Riding on the back of a motorcycle is a thrilling experience. Even the children want to ride on the motorbikes at an early age when they see others are having all the fun.
As a parent, you might get confused about whether you should allow your child to ride bikes or not! Or what is the legal age for child to ride on back of motorcycle? In this article, I have brought all the information that will clarify all the confusion at the end. Without further ado, let’s get down the business.
As I said, parents are always concerned about the safety of their children. They don’t allow their children to do the things that might cause them an accident.
But children rarely pay heed to them if they like anything or they are fond of something. Well, I am talking about dirt bikes. Because here, the safety issues are more concerning than standard motorcycles.
Dirt bikes, what it is?
Adventure lover people know about dirt bikes. It is the sport of ultimate adventure lovers. Only daredevils go for these riding’s.
For those who are wondering what a dirt bike is, let me tell you, it is a lightweight motorcycle intended for the untraveled tracks, a bike that runs through rough grounds.
The riders enjoy a tough time while riding. I used the word “enjoy” because, to most people, it may seem self-destructive play, but to the dirt bikers, it is nothing but fun and they love it.
The concern of the parents
If anyone asks you, “who are the most authentic well-wishers of your life?” without much thinking, you would answer “my parents.” Yes, it’s right for everyone. They are always concerned about our safety.
The same rule goes when it comes to riding on the back of the motorcycle. The concern gets worse when it is a dirt bike. Riding a dirt bike is a tough sport or passion.
Parents are always protective; that’s why they don’t still allow their children to ride a motorcycle, let alone to ride dirt bikes. But what does the law say about this? Is there any legal age for child to ride on back of motorcycle? Let’s find out that below.
What does the law say?
Are children permitted to ride on the back of the motorcycle? The answer is, “yes.” Children are lawfully permitted to ride a bike as a passenger. The only guideline that the law enforces is, the children who are aged below eight should get proper safety measures.
The law says that children of this age should be protected with harnesses when they will ride a motorcycle. Though this is not an obligation, the law recommends this.
Because it will protect them in a collision. Accidents follow no time or place. If you want to take kids on the back of your motorbike, you should ensure some precautions. These are:
- Your motorcycle must have a passenger seat and a footrest.
- The child should be 4 feet 8 inches tall at least, so that s/he can reach the footrest.
- The child should wear a tight, govt. Approved helmet.
- S/he should wear dresses, specially made for riding bikes. Like: long pants, protective gloves, closed-toed shoes, heavy jacket, and knee pads.
- The motorcycle must have a restraint system.
Now we know that the law doesn’t bother about the age of riding a motorcycle. But we see that people are worried about the kids. It’s all because riding a bike or dirt bike has caused many accidents.
If we see those statistics, we will notice that many accidents are happening out there. And wearing helmets cannot save them if the rider is a child. But the laws don’t prohibit the children from riding bikes though they are more vulnerable than adults.
What can we do?
As we have already known that there is no age limit for riding a motorcycle or dirt bikes, so the responsibility is on our shoulders to ensure a safe bike ride for the kids.
Apart from taking safety measures, we have to buy perfect bikes for the children. There are a lot of dirt bikes available only for kids. To ensure the child’s safety, we should keep some things in mind. Let’s figure out those:
- Bike size and engine capacity: There is a wide range of dirt bikes for kids. If your kid is so young, then you can buy him/her a 50cc motorcycle. It won’t allow high speed. They will stay safe.
- Comfort: Don’t compromise the comfort of your kids. If they feel comfortable, they can control it easily. Without proper control, they can face a catastrophic injury.
- Two-stroke or four-stroke: The children who have experience of riding two-stroke bikes, they can comfortably ride four-stroke bikes. But children who are riding for the first time should go for two-stroke bikes. They will not endanger them by riding it.
- Weight and height: You should keep a balance between the weight of your kid and the weight of the bike.
However, it is a matter of debate if we should allow children to ride on the back seat of a motorcycle. The law does not put any restrictions on this matter. But as guardians, we should take enough safety measures.
Conclusion
It’s nothing wrong with riding dirt bikes and there are no age restrictions for this. Though the parents are concerned about the safety issues, the rise of the popularity of the dirt bikes will continue in the future no matter what.
Kids always want to have fun, and riding dirt bikes is a significant source of joy for them. Besides this, riding dirt bikes has a lot of benefits too. Well, we can talk about it in other article. Till then, have a bumpy ride on your dirt bike as there is no legal age for child to ride on back of motorcycle.
