Dirt bike safety in N.C. spotlight

Death of 5-year-old prompts N.C. officials to consider new laws

CHARLOTTE -- With motocross racing surging in popularity among children, some N.C. officials say the state should consider new laws to keep young riders safe.

Their comments came in the wake of Saturday's death of 5-year-old Cody Fidler, who was fatally injured during a motocross event in Cleveland County.

N.C. Sen. William Purcell, D-Laurinburg, sponsored legislation passed in 2005 that prohibits parents from letting children younger than 8 ride all-terrain vehicles.

He said research at the time showed less reason for concern about motocross bike safety, but the retired pediatrician said he'd rather not see young children on motocross bikes, either.

"It's probably something we need to look at," he said. "The deaths from ATVs were so much higher than on dirt bikes, but I think there needs to be more regulation on those, too."

Motocross racing has enjoyed soaring popularity, especially among young people. Motocross bikes have two wheels, while ATVs generally have four.

In 1990, almost 180,000 entrants participated in motocross events sponsored by the American Motorcyclist Association. In 2003, the latest year for which statistics are available, more than 500,000 entries flooded in.

The association sanctions more than 30 types of racing, but motocross accounts for about 70 percent of its racing entries. The youth classes, for children ages 4 to 15, account for about a third of the entries in the motocross races the association sanctions.

"It's sort of a subcultural thing," said Tom Vitaglione, co-chairman of the N.C. Child Fatality Task Force. "The folks who are into it are really into it."

Cody was finishing a practice round at Parker Valley Motorsports Park when he fell. As he tried to get up, his father said, a 12-year-old biker crashed onto him.

Cody was riding a 50cc bike, which can go up to 30 mph. The rider who crashed onto him was riding a more powerful 85cc bike -- two divisions higher than Cody's. The Fidlers, who live in Kannapolis, said older children shouldn't have been allowed on the track with younger ones.

Joe Williams, who runs JMX Racing, the company that sponsored the event, didn't immediately return calls or an e-mail seeking comment Monday.

A search of N.C. court records showed Williams and JMX racing have been criticized in the past by at least one other parent whose child was injured.

Phyllis Rundle sued in 2001, saying her son was injured after Williams asked the boy, then 15, to serve as a flagger at a 1998 race at the Shelby fairgrounds. She said Williams told her son, now 23, to stand in an unsafe spot, and he was injured when a cyclist lost control.

Williams denied telling the boy to stand in an unsafe spot and contended the boy failed to stand where instructed. The case was settled without a trial.

Rundle and her son, Curtis Crochet, couldn't be reached for comment Monday. Their attorney declined to say whether they recovered any money.

"The real tragedy is there are a lot of these dirt tracks that people put together, and they're not really regulated that I know of," said the attorney, Scott Beckey of Spartanburg.

"There are plenty of them out there that aren't as responsible as these guys (JMX) seemed to be."

N.C. Rep. Cary Allred, R-Alamance, is majority owner of a Honda motorcycle dealership. He said people should use their common sense rather than look to government regulations to keep their children safe.

Still, he said he didn't think bikes from different power categories should run together.

"Maybe we need some regulations," he said. "We shouldn't allow 50cc's and 85cc's in the same race or the same practice."

ATVs, which have a higher center of gravity than motorcycles, have been known to flip over during turns. Purcell said N.C. lawmakers passed the ATV law after learning that about 16 children per year were dying on the four-wheeled vehicles.

In 2005, seven children died in ATV accidents; two children 15 or younger died in two-wheeled dirt bike accidents, according to the N.C. medical examiner's office.

A federal study found that more than 16,000 children and teens were injured in dirt bike or trail bike accidents from 2001 to 2004; most injuries were suffered in woods, fields or trails rather than at motocross tracks or parks.

Vitaglione said advocates of the ATV law took considerable political heat in 2005, and he suspects they'd draw even more if they tackle motocross racing.

"It's really tough to take away what legislators view as people's inherent right to take risks."

Staff writer Jefferson George and researcher Marion Paynter contributed.