12 Year old Motorcycle racer killed

Strange and sad article. I am not a parent so understanding all the "why's" is hard to comprehend. All I know is when I was young I did many things that could have killed me, I guess only in retrospec can one see the potential error of your young ways. Mind you, my parents did not sign a waiver, heck they never even knew how close they came to losing a son, at that age ( I will agree with the write ) death is not understood.
 
The article says he was riding a rented Ninja 250:

"Anderson crashed during an AFM 500cc Twins race while riding a rented Kawasaki Ninja 250R March 3 at Buttonwillow Raceway Park, in Buttonwillow, California"

It's very sad but unfortunately disasters happen on and off the race track.
 
First of all RIP and my condolences to the family. Second that writer has clearly got a bubble kid, every sport is dangerous! Kids get killed walking across the street the same way an adult does! This was an accident, the size of bike doesn't matter, it's not a 500gp bike, it's a beginners bike. My kids will ride when they're able to ride a bicycle without training wheels, just like I did and I'm still here. That kid had more skill than 90% of the people on this forum that are out riding on the streets endangering everyone around them.
 
Putting a kid on a motorcycle on a race track is above my comfort level for risk, couldn't do it. There are risks in daily life yes, but doing necessary things is different that putting a kid into racing.
 
dricked said:
First of all RIP and my condolences to the family. Second that writer has clearly got a bubble kid, every sport is dangerous! Kids get killed walking across the street the same way an adult does! This was an accident, the size of bike doesn't matter, it's not a 500gp bike, it's a beginners bike. My kids will ride when they're able to ride a bicycle without training wheels, just like I did and I'm still here. That kid had more skill than 90% of the people on this forum that are out riding on the streets endangering everyone around them.
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Totally agree!

When I was 13, I was playing rep baseball in Mississauga, hitting 80+mph fastballs. Catch one of those to the temple, and I imagine a coma wouldn't be unlikely - Every sport is/can be dangerous!

That being said, my kids will NOT be racing motorcycles until they're adults. I would feel comfortable with them on a 50cc dirtbike, but not competing on one. I'll probably have them competing in 4x BMX, or something.

RIP to the deceased, and my thoughts go out to the young man's family :'(
 
mikbusa said:
Putting a kid on a motorcycle on a race track is above my comfort level for risk, couldn't do it. There are risks in daily life yes, but doing necessary things is different that putting a kid into racing.
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Totally acceptable, I raced at 13 till 17, wish I started younger and wish I started on asphalt earlier. Everyone says the track is safer than the street, so what happens when they want to get their license and drive? That writer just really irks me buy seeming to put the blame on the parents and saying that the kid probably didn't love racing without having ever spoken a single word to anyone that even knew him.
 
dricked said:
Totally acceptable, I raced at 13 till 17, wish I started younger and wish I started on asphalt earlier. Everyone says the track is safer than the street, so what happens when they want to get their license and drive? That writer just really irks me buy seeming to put the blame on the parents and saying that the kid probably didn't love racing without having ever spoken a single word to anyone that even knew him.
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I don't know much about the motorcycle road racing community, but I do know people that have put their kids into full blown stock cars at young ages, the 2011 SuperStock champion at Sunset was 14 yrs old and last year, a 12 year old son of a fairly prominent stock car racer ran in that same series.
 
Slick_Steveo said:
I don't know much about the motorcycle road racing community, but I do know people that have put their kids into full blown stock cars at young ages, the 2011 SuperStock champion at Sunset was 14 yrs old and last year, a 12 year old son of a fairly prominent stock car racer ran in that same series.
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Good for them for not raising a bubble kid! I have a feeling I'm going to have some good competition this year from a young kid coming off a 125 or 250 gp bike in the 600 class.
 
I would love to talk to that author.

I was planning on getting my kids (10 boy and 6 girl) into MX this year, but I can't afford it. I will be getting my son a new bike so they can ride the trails with me.
 
imnothng said:
I would love to talk to that author.

I was planning on getting my kids (10 boy and 6 girl) into MX this year, but I can't afford it. I will be getting my son a new bike so they can ride the trails with me.
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There are kids all around the world - and right here in North America - that are involved in high risk sports and activities. I would wager there are more kids killed in many of those than there are on motorcycles. Even if we look at statistics for adults (since there are probably proportionately fewer kids in bike racing anyway), how many participants are killed in motorcycle racing each year vs other sports or hobbies?
I don't think we can compare the every day risks of crossing the street or maybe even riding a bicycle. Those don't involve the same choices or require additional effort to participate.
What bothers me more about the article are his comparisons:

"I don’t understand how a parent can sign a waiver that then allows a minor child to participate in something that could kill him. A parent can’t sign something that says it’s okay for their child to drink (which they can’t do, in licensed premises in most of Canada, until they are 19 and in the U.S. until they are 21)."

In licenced premises, no. But their parents can provide alcohol and they can drink it legally.

"A child in Ontario has to stay in school until they turn 18, whether they want to or not, and a parent can’t sign something changing that."

They can if they make a successful argument for home-schooling, but how is quitting school an activity that can kill them?

This part is what we all agree on: "In the end, what matters is that a 12-year-old boy is dead before he really started to live. And that’s tragic."
 
I am sick of these liberal types who can't take 2 steps without being told what to do and who swallow their sweet government pill as if it's the best thing since sliced bread. No wonder we live in such a nanny state. And it's only getting worse.
I doubt this author had that much insight into what "living life" is all about.
Life is about choices and I like being able to make them, thanks.
 
RIP to the kid. What professional (in any sport/racing league) started after they turned 18? If you look at the stats, I suspect hockey is much more damaging to the average child than racing.

Bubble wrapping all kids is not the answer, buy them the best protection available, train them properly and hope something doesn't go horribly wrong.
 
Kid probably lived more in his 12 years than most adults have in their entire lives....Some people need to realize that breathing and being a good sheep is NOT living. Kid died doing what he loved. He could have just as easily been killed crossing the street. Or worse, riding on the street and a left hand turner takes him out...then everyone shrugs and goes oh well....

oh and just to add....parents who have their kids race competitively devote their entire lives to it. They sell and go into debt so the kid can have the best tires, best bike and equipment, because they know the kids love it. Its insulting to think that this POS of a writer is saying that somehow those parents dont love their children. I bet you he'd be the smallest grain of sand on the table if he met that parent face to face after the childs death....pathetic.
 
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Red_Liner740 said:
Kid probably lived more in his 12 years than most adults have in their entire lives....Some people need to realize that breathing and being a good sheep is NOT living. Kid died doing what he loved. He could have just as easily been killed crossing the street. Or worse, riding on the street and a left hand turner takes him out...then everyone shrugs and goes oh well....

oh and just to add....parents who have their kids race competitively devote their entire lives to it. They sell and go into debt so the kid can have the best tires, best bike and equipment, because they know the kids love it. Its insulting to think that this POS of a writer is saying that somehow those parents dont love their children. I bet you he'd be the smallest grain of sand on the table if he met that parent face to face after the childs death....pathetic.
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BS. This kid got the best because his competitive, ego-driven parents wanted him to WIN, and this kid wanted to please his parents above all. See it all the time in every "sport".
 
Really? They wanted him to win? How strange, that in a competitive sport, parents want his son to win...MIND....BLOWN!
To say that his parents didnt love him or put him danger intentionally is kinda BS on your part. You dont know them, so why are your prejudging?

Hey, last year i heard about a kid that got killed playing baseball when a line drive hit the pitcher straight in the sternum....guess those parents didnt love their kid either, you know...put him in such a dangerous enviroment. :rolleyes:

DJM said:
BS. This kid got the best because his competitive, ego-driven parents wanted him to WIN, and this kid wanted to please his parents above all. See it all the time in every "sport".
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I didn't search if the writer commented on this tragedy... http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toron...ldren-struck-killed-cliffside-east-haven.html , but where is his outrage in this case?

I totally disagree with this statement he made:

On their Facebook page, the family of the boy, Kenny Anderson, wrote that he “died doing what he loved.” Well, loving is learned behaviour and somebody taught him.

My son loves to play guitar, but I don't know how... how did is loving a learned behaviour in my son's case, if I didn't teach him to love guitar???
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