P07005

Youth bikes shouldn’t stop being sold because of the lead law.

Most kids nag their parents to get them a motorbike but at the end of May 2012 it will be illegal to buy and sell bikes made for under twelves because of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement act, also known as the “lead law”. The lead law is going to affect all business that sell bikes for under twelves and is going to force kids prematurely on to an adult size bikes to race. The lead in a youth bike is not going to poison a young child.

Motorbike business have been hit hard with the recent recession but are going to be harder with the “lead law” making it illegal to sell and buy youth motorbikes. The motorbike industry is 30 percent in the United States of America from the recession and will be set to lose another 10 to 15 percent. The sales manager at Long Beach Motorsport said “that he sold $120,000 worth of youth bikes last year”. The money that the motorbike industry made from youth bikes last year is not going to force a lot of businesses to close because the youth bikes industry earns about half their income.

You don’t see seven year olds using a man’s urinal. You also don’t see a seven year old driving a car, so why would you put a seven year old on an adult sized bike. Kids under twelve are going to be force prematurely onto an adult sized bike because they can’t get one that is made for themselves. Kids on an adult size bikes have a higher risk of injury. CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) studies have found that approximately 90 percent of injuries to children under 16 occur on adult-sized ATV. Zack Bartell said “are you kidding”. Kids want to ride bikes made for them, not adults.

The lead law (Consumer Product Safety Improvement act) was produced to improve product safety and stop kids digesting toys made of lead and toys that have traces of lead on them. The law bans the sale of product that is aimed at children under twelve if they contain 600 parts of lead per million parts. Lead is found in the frame, motor and other parts of a motorbike because lead strengthens metal and resists corrosion so it makes the bike last longer. “There is no way I’m going to stick a motorcycle part in my mouth” says Zack Bartell. There is no way a child would be able to stick a motorbike part in their mouth, because the parts are too big.

With the banning of the sale of youth bikes, business are closing down, there will be more injuries and people think that a child is going to be poisoned from the lead in youth bikes. Kids love riding so why should the law stop them!