At what age to you let kids . . . ?

Thanks to some help from several members here, my 2 little scooters are running great.

Now comes the hard part. My 11-year old daughter is growing up.

Earlier this week she and I went for a ride on one scooter. She sat in front and I let her control the brakes and the throttle. Eventually I let her steer too. We rode for a couple miles like this and came back home. There is a flat straight part of our private road that gets very little traffic so I stepped off the scooter and let her drive about 250' by herself as I jogged along side. (obviously she was going pretty slow). I told her to continue and she went to the next neighbor's drive, turned around and came back. Under her control only, with me jogging by her side, she drove about 750'.

The next night I started her out on one scooter with me right next to her on the other scooter. We kept the speeds between 15 and 25mph. She rode only inside the neighborhood, but we rode back and forth for about 3 or 4 miles. The next night she repeated the process and had no problems at all. Again at fairly slow speeds.

She has not asked to go out alone YET, but I expect that to happen. I won't let her go alone until I know she can handle the scooter at full speed and under some additional conditions (like learning how to deal with some traffic).

But is it reasonable to say that she cannot go alone, even just on our private road (about 1.5 miles from front to back) this year? Again, she is 11 years old and this is a motorized vehicle capable of 45-to-50mph.

It seems reasonable to me, but I suspect there will be a dinner-time debate over this topic in the near future and am looking for some opinions.

I should probably point out that (my understanding of Indiana law) she is not legally allowed to operate one of these on a public roadway until she is 12 years old. The scooter, at 50cc or less, does not require a vehicle registration or permit, nor does it require an operators license.

I strongly suspect the arguement will be that "as long as she is on the private road then . . . "

I would make sure that she can not only drive it, but can react effectively to any hazards. Say if a dog ran out infront of her, a tree jumped out, car skidding infront.

Here you have to be 16 and take a test covering those sorts of things to ride a scooter on the road.

If you have a private road, and are fairly sure that there arent going to be many cars, and if they do come, she gets off the road quicklike then it should be OK. I assume shes wearing a helmet, in which case, she should be moderately safe on a scooter.
How about you put a throttle stop on it at about 25mph?

Mith said:

How about you put a throttle stop on it at about 25mph?

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I guess I should not have taken those off and thrown them away when I received the scooters?!? But I wanted to have fun too and 25mph may be fine for guys like Dargo, but I need a little more excitement in my life.

I thought this was for your 11 Y/O, you can use the other one. You can always up it when you think she is safe.

B_Skurka said:

But I wanted to have fun too and 25mph may be fine for guys like Dargo, but I need a little more excitement in my life.

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I think Bob knew my parents way back when. By the time I was 9 years old I was hitting speeds of over 90 mph on some of the straight areas of the tracks I raced. My dad got a mechanic to travel with us to some of the more wide open tracks and they did some head work on the bike and changed the carb and front sproket. That got me to bust the 100 mph barrier by the time I was 11 years old. I just have to wonder now, were they trying to get rid of me...

Actually Bob, because of some of the injuries I sustained as a kid racing, the only motorcycle I have is a 50cc Honda Trail bike. That thing is still going strong and smooth and it's never had the head off of it since it was built in 1972.

When I had some Honda Pilots (not the minivans) here, I had 5 pt. restraints on them as well as wrist restraints that they wore besides helmets. After further thought, I got rid of those Pilots because the ones I had would still run over 70 mph. Even strapped in and all, if they went tumbling into the woods at that speed, it wouldn't be good. I have my Rhino set up pretty well the same way; I have what is called 'legminders' (keeps legs from getting outside the roll cage in an accident) and 5 pt harnesses for the driver and passenger. I only let my 16 yr old drive that for the most part. My 14 yr old daughter is allowed to use it some.

All of my kids except my 6 year old drives my RTV around my property though. It is slow enough and seems rather stable. I'm sure that one way or another a person could flip one, but you'd have to work at it. Otherwise, they just wear their safety belts and ride it like they have some sense. You know, no driving into the lake, no driving through any fences, and no ramming any parked cars or my barn. My 11 year old seems to drive it the most. She is honestly pretty responsible on it and has the most seat time in it. She also knows that all it takes is one confirmed report that she was screwing around and being dangerous and she loses her driving rights.

It sounds like your 11 year old would be similar. I'm likely a bit over protective because of my past personal experiences with crashes. That said, the kids love to be able to 'drive' something. Besides being fun, I think they learn responsibility for the machine when they are given detailed instructions as to what is acceptable and what is not. Personally, I think you ought to get her one of those new hopped up Drakarts some idea pics. You used to be able to buy some that would run over 130 mph right out of the box! She'd love you for that!!!

Dargo . . . Yea but you were doing 100mph under adult supervision. My quesiton is related to UN-supervised use. I fully expect her to be running the scooter up to full throttle in a few days (weather permitting). She seems to have plenty of control and the speed doesn't seem to be an issue.

So let me clarify my quesiton a bit, at what age do you let them go off on a scooter on their own, without riding along side them?


Mith . . . she is wearing a Dept of Transportation approved motorcycle helmet. I also won't let her wear shorts, sandals, or a short sleeve shirt. . . do as I say, not as I do!

My 2 cents.

Definitely put the speed limiter on it. When she can see you, she'll drive 25 or less. When out of sight, unless she's the absolutely perfect child (unlike mine), she'll definitely speed up.

I probably wouldn't mess with the law. Keep her on the private roads until she's 12 or until you get her a fake ID.

Have her practice some emergency maneuvers.

And my favorite thought/suggestion is to get a headset inside her helmet. I have them in my helmet as well as my daughters. They have PTT or VOX but the nice part is they use standard FRS radios. That way, you can talk to her (check in) wherever you are just by putting a radio in your pocket. They come in particularly handy when you're trying to teach them how to drive. I would sit on the deck and watch my daughter drive but I could remind her about leaning and such without having to yell.

B_Skurka said:

So let me clarify my quesiton a bit, at what age do you let them go off on a scooter on their own, without riding along side them?

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If you do the headset in the helmet, I would let her go on the private road.

Bob , one thing to consider is a decent set of gloves . Something that breathes ,yet offers protection for Her hands . I know from experience that the first thing You do in a "tumble" is put out your hands .

bczoom said:

If you do the headset in the helmet, I would let her go on the private road.

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See that is why I come here to ask questions.

What is the range of those headsets? Who makes them? Where do I buy them? I have no clue what you are talking about with FRS frequencies.

bczoom said:

Keep her on the private roads until she's 12 or until you get her a fake ID.

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See now this is the sort of thing I expect from Junkman. He already has inquired about her dowry.

nixon said:

Bob , one thing to consider is a decent set of gloves . Something that breathes ,yet offers protection for Her hands . I know from experience that the first thing You do in a "tumble" is put out your hands .

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She does not have them but I did talk to one of my managers at work, he told me yesterday he is going to ask the glove salesman who's gloves we sell, to get me a kids size pair of leather gloves. He recommended them too. I had not even thought of it until he mentioned it.

B_Skurka said:

What is the range of those headsets? Who makes them? Where do I buy them? I have no clue what you are talking about with FRS frequencies.

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FRS radios are relatively cheap. You can get a pair of decent Motorola's for under $100. Other brands are as low as $20 a pair.

The newer ones have a range of over 10 miles. Many older ones are either 2 or 5 mile range.

To figure out headset options, I need to know if she has an open or full face helmet.

bczoom said:

I need to know if she has an open or full face helmet.

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She has an open face helmet.

Do places like Radio Shack sell these FRS radios?

B_Skurka said:

Do places like Radio Shack sell these FRS radios?

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Yep. Just about everyone sells them...

I have about a dozen of them. They're very handy.
- If I'm in the back 40 I can talk to Mrs. Zoom in the house.
- I handed them out to all the staff at the pow-wow we had last year so we could talk while scattered out over the 100 acres.
- Great in Disney World or other parks where you get separated (on purpose or by accident).
- I use them in the bunker when something needs to be tested but we're far apart.
- Use them when riding ATV's and such.

OK, what I have in my helmets is the motocomm headset. There's others out there that are better but they may be $500+ per helmet.

I did a google search for "motocomm headset" and grabbed one of the first sites to show you what I'm referring to.

Here's a pic of a full setup. I'm not familiar with the SK75 setup nor the Midland radio but it does show pretty much everything you'll want/need.
http://bobscb.com/helmet_headsets/motocomm-sk75.htm

Here's a pic of the headset I use. For an open face, you'll need the MC-7xx series (the bottom of the 2 that are pictured). The only difference is it has a semi-rigid boom for the mic as opposed to a wire one for the full-face helmet.
http://bobscb.com/helmet_headsets/mc_headset_illustrations.htm

Here's a list of the different headsets based on which FRS radio model & manufacturer you select.
http://bobscb.com/helmet_headsets/motocomm_headset_compat.htm

As for the radios, there's lots of models out there. I pretty much stick to the Motorola's. The T5***, T6*** and T7*** are fine selections. I would probably recommend one with the charger if you think you'll use them more than occasionally. Make sure you pick the ones that have the sub-codes within channels. This gives you more channel privacy. Don't bother with the GMSR as you need a FCC license to broadcast on those. Also, make sure whatever radio you choose is listed in the motocomm headset chart to make sure they have a headset for it. E-bay is normally the cheapest to purchase these. Do a search for "Motorola Talkabout".

So, first, you need to pick your radio. Once you know the model of the radio, use the motocomm chart to determine which headset you need. The only difference is the pin connection to the radio.

E-bay Item number: 4643180291 is another source for the headset. The price is a little cheaper but not sure where they would compare once shipping is added. Not promoting this seller but it's the only e-bay hit I got on "motocomm".

Back to the more basic question, of when do you set kids free on motorized equipment, the topic actually came up last night at dinner!

I knew it would happen eventually but didn't figure it would be so soon. As I am on the concervative side of the issue, it actually worked out in my favor. My wife has not seen my daughter riding the scooters alone (except to come up our driveway), so my wife is very concerned with the abilities of our 11 year old daughter.

We have decided that my daughter will NOT be allowed to ride a scooter unless there is an adult who is on another scooter riding with her, at least for now. We have also decided that she will NOT be allowed to drive on the public roads outside of our neighborhood until she is 12 years old (legal minimum age to operate a scooter).

However, she will be allowed to drive the scooter INSIDE our neighborhood (on the private roads) when an adult is with her, and we may, depending on her abilities, allow her to drive up and down the visible portion of the roadway near our house without an adult riding beside her, but with an adult watching from the yard.

And we will be getting some radios so we can talk to her while she has her helmet on her head!

I got my kid a 4wheeler when he was 9 or so.. I instilled the fear of god in him about how dangerous they can be(he's always been cautious) and I've been letting him out on his own for about a year now. Though I'm always listening for the bike(human nature) I dont watch him all the time..

HGM said:

I got my kid a 4wheeler when he was 9 or so.. I instilled the fear of god in him about how dangerous they can be(he's always been cautious) and I've been letting him out on his own for about a year now. Though I'm always listening for the bike(human nature) I dont watch him all the time..

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If he was 9 when you gave it to him, and for the past year you've been letting him out on his own, then how old is he now?

B_Skurka said:

If he was 9 when you gave it to him, and for the past year you've been letting him out on his own, then how old is he now?

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11, and I should prefeace the alone by adding that its still on our property or relatively near-by(we live in the country) though out of direct sight..

You know your kid quite well by now. The question is not what we think, rather it is, what are you comfortable with?? Your gut instinct will tell you what's the right thing to do. Allowing her to drive only with someone else on another scooter beside her sounds pretty schmardt! You'll know when she's ready to solo.