30 Second Preview of the 30 Minute Documentary.
This documentary features Dr. Larry Foreman, Emergency Room Physician at Arroyo Grande Hospital. He became alarmed and concerned at the number of children slaughtered by ATVs on the Oceano Dunes at the Oceano State Vehicular Recreation Area (ODSVRA).
While the Off-Highway Vehicle Division of State Parks and Recreation (OHV) minimized the total number of injuries, and reported only 330 per year, Dr. Foreman documented almost a thousand a year treated at one hospital alone, and of these over a hundred are children.
Dr. Foreman wanted to protect children by banning them on ATV's, but met with overwhelming opposition from OHV, the off-highway industry, and Friends of Oceano Dunes, who went so far as to threaten his ability to practice medicine (according to a statement he made on KVEC a few years ago). Getting nowhere with our representatives, Abel Maldonado and Sam Blakesley, Dr. Foreman enlisted a state-wide organization of emergency room physicians to support legislation that would at least make mandatory the safety suggestions of ATV manufacturers.
Abel Maldonado was willing to back Dr. Foreman's bill, Senate Bill 1228 which requires that children take a four hour safety course (children as young as six years old may take the course, without actually having to get on an atv to earn a safety certificate) and ride ATV's appropriate to their size and maturity. The OHV is not happy with the bill, since it would require enforcement.
Dr. Foreman's original position to ban children from riding dangerous ATV's is the unrelenting quest of Concerned Families for ATV Safety. Two of its founders, Sue Rabe and Carolyn Anderson, state that ATV's of any size are inappropriate for children. They warn other parents of the dangers in an attempt to spare them the tragedy they have suffered through the deaths of their children on ATVs.
Also featured is Rachel Weintraub, Director and Senior Council of Consumer Federation of America, who challenges the Consumer Product Safety Commission for its failure to stem the alarming death and injury rate of children on ATVs.
Dr. Larry Foreman recognizes the uphill battle to protect children but is determined to see changes. He states "a half a loaf of bread is better than no bread at all".
