No-kids bill for second reading

By
CMG Staff
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sm_kids-on-hayabusa-262.jpg

"Hey, you in the back … let’s see some I.D."

A bill that would prohibit carrying passengers younger than 14 on motorcycles in Ontario moves one step closer to law when it goes to second reading and debate in the legislature on Dec. 4.

Bill 117, a Private Member’s Bill by MPP Helena Jaczek (Oak Ridges-Markham), is a response to "alarming" research on numbers of young accident victims, Jaczek says in response to a query from a CMG reader.

MPP Jaczek says in part, "a total of 199 motorcycle passengers between the ages of 0-15 sustained an injury in the years 1995-2005."

You can sign a petition at ipetitions.com to help get this bill put into its proper place. We suggest signing it once only.

And if you’d like to contact your own MPP, start here.

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1 COMMENT

  1. IJM:

    Well stated, and very simular to what I sent to her, the MPP for my riding, and the MPP for where my folks live, My dad had introduced me to motorcycling at 9 years old.

    I think the relevance of the data should be questioned, because it could have been 1 per year, except for those kids that were told not to touch when it’s hot, or ‘home alone’ in the garage…

  2. Dear Ms. Jaczek,

    I am one of many people opposed to your Private Members Bill 117, and am responsible for the start of a petition against it. Certainly I understand that children have to be protected from numerous dangers that there are in the world today, but am curious how you came up with targeting motorcyclists.

    Your statistics indicate that a total of 199 motorcycle passengers sustained injuries over a ten year period. Could you be a bit more clear…or better yet, could you send me the report. Surely if a toddler fell off the motorcycle while it was parked in a garage and sustained head injuries that this would not be included as part of your stats??

    I have two young children and understand the dangers of having them as passengers, just as I understand the dangers of having them as passengers in my car, on a snowmobile, or even riding a bicycle. Surely your time can be better spent thinking up laws that will help society, and not punish a targeted group based on stats that if compared to other injuries sustained in other ways (i.e. bicycle accidents) is minuscule.

    Please, send me your stats. Thanks

  3. I don’t generally carry any minor passengers, but I signed the petition and wrote (well, emailed anyway) my local MPP.

    Contrary to what some on this forum have said, it wasn’t a conservative (small or large C) government that gave us this or the egregious anti-stunting laws. McSquinty’s government’s stupidity continues unabated.

  5. This bill is motivated by prejudice and contempt for people who are different and not by reason or unselfish concern for the welfare of society. :sigh

  6. There has to be bigger issues to be concerned with. Probably an order of magnitude greater than this die in cars every year. Perhaps we should ban kids from riding in cars too.

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