On July 1, 2008, Florida Statute 261.20 went into effect requiring children ages 6 through 16 who wish to ride either ATV’s or dirt bikes, off-road on public land in the State of Florida to carry proof of completion of an off-highway vehicle safety course.

According to a recent tampabay.com article notifying the public of the law change, ATV accidents have killed or injured many children. Citing 2006 statistics, the article reported that according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 111 children under the age of 16 died while riding ATV’s, while the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles cited 771 ATV crashes in 2006.

In fact as recently as June 24, of this year, a colleague and fellow child safety advocate, David Wolf reported on the death of a 9-year old Bradford County Florida boy who died after the ATV on which he was a passenger crashed in Baker County.

Although one cannot say with any certainty whether a safety course would have changed the circumstances of the young boy from Bradford County, since he was not the operator of the ATV and only a passenger, certainly any law designed to protect our children, even if the law has some flaws, should be a good thing.

Adults (actually 16 years and older) need licenses to operate motor vehicles and now anyone under 21 must take a safety course to operate a motorcycle or scooter, it follows logically that children take a safety course before operating an ATV or dirt bike on public land. Note that the law does not affect riders on private property.

About this Law Firm

James W. Dodson, P.A., is a Tampa based Bike accident lawyer.