Death of 13-year-old motorcycle rider has some asking, how young is too young?
Aug 30, 2010, 10:00 AM EDT
By now you’ve probably heard of the tragic accident that took the life of 13-year-old motorcycle driver Peter Lenz, who was taking a practice run at a youth racing event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday when he fell off of his bike and was run over by another 12-year-old driver. Lenz was a popular and accomplished figure on the United States Grand Prix Racing Union circuit, and news of his death has hit the racing community hard; condolences flowing in to his Facebook page by the hundreds. There are also, however, questions being asked. When it comes to high-speed motorsports events such as the one in which Lenz was competeing (in which bikes are ridden as speeds of up to 120 mph), how young is too young? Comment on the story at Speed.com:
Why do parents allow their children to do such dangerous things? They are too young to understand the risks involved. It’s very sad. — FlashGTA
That comment represents many who think it folly for parents to allow their children to be involved in dangerous activities, whether it be motorcycle racing, sailing around the world or climbing mountains. Earlier this year, 13-year-old Jordan Romero became the youngest person to summit Mt. Everest; with his father noting that during their ascent, they watched as another nearby climber died when he fell into a crevice.
In June, 16-year-old Abby Sunderland attempted to sail solo around the world, and needed an international rescue effort when her boat became disabled in the Indian Ocean.
And Lenz himself had been seriously injured on the track just last year, when he suffered a broken leg, a broken arm and a severed nerve at Portland International Raceway.
From the Associated Press:
Racers insist age has never been the issue.
American Colin Edwards was running 250cc bikes at age 17, and Indy MotoGP runner-up Ben Spies was competing on the 125cc circuit at age 12.
“That’s not like a bike too big for him, you know, I mean this is our sport, we chose to do it,” said American Nicky Hayden, the 2006 world champ who called the death “terrible.”
“I mean, sure, we know going in the consequences.”
But at age 12 or 13, is a child mature enough to make those choices? USGPRU officials say that this was the first fatality in the series in nine years. But even so, is sending 12-year-olds hurtling around the Indy Motor Speedway at 120 mph a wise thing to do? I don’t claim to have the answer; I just know that the debate about kids and dangerous sports is revving up once again.
***
Motorcycle rider, 13, dies after crash at Indy [NBCSports]
-
- Al - Aug 30, 2010 at 5:19 PM
-
You know what else is “out of bounds?” Showing a picture of paramedics attempting to revive young Lenz on a stretcher. Shame on you, NBC.
RIP Mr. Lenz.
-
- Fred - Aug 30, 2010 at 6:36 PM
-
Terrible tragedy — yes, and yes, the parents have a right to allow their child to do this dangerous event even though it would be against the law for that child to (1) drive on a public street let alone (2) drive at a 100 miles per hour. My fear, though, is this. After all of the hand wringing about this child having “died doing what he loved,” about how “children should be allowed to do the things they love even if dangerous,” and how the parents have the right to allow the child to endanger itself — mark my words here — a year from now, when the statute of limitations are about to run out — there will be a multi-million dollar lawsuit — probably against both the track and the racing governing body — claiming that those entities should have known it was dangerous to let a child operate a vehicle at those speeds and those conditions and they should not have allowed it.
-
- PMJ - Aug 30, 2010 at 6:51 PM
-
Though the loss of any life is sad and a child is particularly devestating — the decision should rest with the parents. The children we are blessed with are our responsibility, not the state, not the federal government, not judgemental people on the internet. Yes, there are laws slowly but surely taking away our rights as parents to decide many things about their lives but that doesn’t mean I agree. My children wore helmuts when they rode their bikes or rollerblades because it’s my job to keep them safe and I told them to. I resented our local city government passing an ordinance about it. That’s my job; not theirs. No form of government should be telling us how to raise our kids unless there is direct abuse. Oh, but how about those lousy parents…….. I refuse to give up my rights on how to raise my kids because some idiot procreated. Allowing a child to race a motorcyle, which he was obvioulsy talented enough to do on many occassions, is Mom and Dad’s decision. They will have the joy and sorrow of that decision but I completely support their right to have made the one they did. Whether they “should” or not is up for debate as long is debate isn’t they shouldn’t have the right to make that decision. We’ve got to stop as a nation thinking the government should control everything we do and think and is there to protect us. I am an adult. I don’t need their protection from my decisions. I will accept the consequences or blessings from them. My children don’t either. Make the decisions for your family and leave mine the hell alone.
-
- Neela jacques - Aug 30, 2010 at 6:56 PM
-
Are you sure its “crevice” rather than “crevasse” the climber fell into?
-
- Rick Chandler - Aug 30, 2010 at 7:23 PM
-
No, I think the latter is correct. Thanks for the correction,
-
- Opinionated Fool - Aug 30, 2010 at 7:27 PM
-
It’s a very sad story. My heart goes out to Peter’s family and friends. But to put the age issue into perspective, keep in mind that on average, 104 children die each year as a result of farm-related injury (according to OSHA). How many kids die practicing or playing school sports every year? I’ve been involved in motorcycling for a long time, and this is the first fatality of a minor in competition I can remember. It was an accident, a terribly sad one, but an accident.
-
- Fred - Aug 30, 2010 at 7:56 PM
-
First, an accident is when you stub your toe. When a 13 year old goes down racing motorcycles it is a crash, part of the race scene, part of what the people in the stands paid to see. It was not an accident, the kid put himself in the position for the crash to occur. I am a crazy man when I get on a high performance machine. I love to go fast, jump hills, get crazy in the dirt, by myself. I always wanted to race mx but did not have the “you know whats” to mix it up with other drivers who may not be as skilled as me. I knew at a very early age that your risk of getting maimed or killed, usually by someone else running you over, is very high. This is a difficult issue because most kids don’t have that awareness, they are invincible at that age and nothing can hurt them. The parents on the other hand know the risks and except those risks for their children when they sign the waivers. Has to be a very difficult decision but one that the parents and the kids have to make on their own. To ban organzied racing will only force them to take greater chances and race in unsanctioned events in questionable conditions. I too feel for the family, a tragic loss and one they will have to live with but I would hate to see do-gooders shut these races down like they are trying to do to off road desert racing in California due to the tragedy here last week. We have too many people telling us what to do all the time. I did not race because of my fear of dying, It was my choice, I do think sometimes that I could have been very good at motocross. This young man knew all along how good he was and he went for it. He now has no unaswered questions. God Bless him and his family for that, he obviously had the “you know whats”.
