The Pleasures of Few

I'm not an outdoor girl at all, so ATV riding isn't my thing. I don't take pleasure in the thought of donning a camouflage unitard and rubber boots, rip-roaring through the mud at 70km per hour (in fact, I might have night terrors after just writing about it). However, to each his own, and if that's what you like to do, far be it from me to interfere with the lawful enjoyment of others.

Unfortunately for some, that won't stop me from complaining about it.

There are good reasons why kids aren't allowed to drive cars until they're 16, and kids might be better served by having those reasons more closely examined and applied to the laws pertaining to riding ATVs. I know lots of people say there's a vast difference between cars and ATVs, but in my opinion these people are fooling themselves. They're gas-powered vehicles capable of high speed and requiring coordination, skill, foresight, and instinct that is not yet developed in children. If you don't believe me, ask the vice-president of medicine at the IWK Children's hospital in Halifax, who's statements I borrowed from.

But whatever. If you want to allow your child to ride one, that's your business. Maybe the thought of proper training is enough to help you sleep at night, but the statistics on injuries and fatalities involving kids on ATVs make a pretty good argument to refute any justification as far as I'm concerned.

Also worth mentioning is the damage these all-terrain vehicles do to terrain. The cause and severity of much of the destruction is debated, but anyone who has ever walked through the woods and seen huge tire tracks that have torn up a bog a million times over should be able to admit that they are causing damage, at least to some extent.

I found dozens of websites that cite the irreparable damage ATV usage has caused, and the rebuttals aren't very convincing. I even read this explanation by a self-proclaimed ATV enthusiast and promoter: "We're not damaging anything, creatures actually live in the ruts left by our machines, and they know to jump out of the way when they hear us coming. The ones who don't make a great snack for the raccoons. It's like the circle of life." Uh-huh. That's just what Elton John was singing about.

But let's pretend I have no problem with ATVs whatsoever. Why should I be expected to pay for others to ride them?

A few weeks ago, our government, and ultimately the taxpayers of Nova Scotia, had to foot the bill for a fleet of 66 child-sized all-terrain vehicles. That bill wasn't chump change - it totaled $230,000, not counting the extra $40,000 Premier MacDonald threw in for a training program and a study on the health benefits of riding. After imposing new restrictions on ATV-ers in 2006, I guess Rodney felt the need to make it up to them.

Here's a little list for everyone to consider, especially those who are stewing in disgust over the decision to back out of the purchase: roughly 11,500 textbooks, 3 teacher's salaries for one year, 460 home heating rebates in the amount of $500, equipment for rural and out-of-date firehouses all over the province, a few dozen daycare subsidies.

Those are just a few things that could be purchased with the almost quarter-million dollars those machines cost us, and hopefully the importance of people's ATV hobby pales in comparison to the importance of the examples I have listed. Premier MacDonald must have thought we had more pressing priorities, since he decided to get refunds for all the equipment purchased.

All-terrain vehicle riding can be a dangerous hobby, especially when a participant isn't properly trained or using the right equipment. The same thing can be said of hockey and of bicycle riding. Last time I checked, the government wasn't doling out cheques for helmets or shin pads, nor were they buying a truckload of BMXs or funding a pricey bicycle training program (even though a far greater majority of children in Nova Scotia ride bicycles than ATVs).

As parents, we decide which activities our children participate in, and we are expected to incur the expenses that go along with it. If for some inexplicable reason you want your child to be an expert ATV rider, make your own arrangements. You shouldn't expect the whole venture to be paid for by taxpayers, most of which don't even indulge in your same extra curricular activity. Unless of course you want to start paying for my son's football gear and future driver's education classes. That wouldn't seem fair, would it?

Our province doesn't have money to waste on the pleasures of few.