There are so many times when children die from circumstances out of our control like incurable disease and freak accidents that no one saw coming. So I think that's what makes deaths that could have been prevented so incredibly tragic. Like the case in Utah this past Sunday in which toddler Richard Moore was killed while riding on his father's motorcycle.
I'm sure Shannon Moore, 48, had only the best of intentions when he took his 1-year-old son out for a ride on his motorcycle. I'm sure he was looking to do some fatherly bonding and figured they'd be fine since they were just riding around their apartment complex parking lot. But they weren't.
According to ABC, the boy was riding between his father and the handlebars; neither was wearing a helmet. They were going more than 10 miles an hour and took a corner too sharply, when Shannon lost control of the vehicle. The boy was thrown from the motorcycle, hit the pavement, and the motorcycle landed on top of him. He died at the scene.
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Neighbors said it wasn't the first time they'd seen the father and son on the motorcycle, but tragically this will be the last. While there is no law that prohibited what they were doing, there should be. Police Department Detective Levi Hughes told the station:
Even though laws don’t regulate the age of the passenger of a motorcycle, common sense has to dictate that kind of decision. If the passenger’s feet can’t reach the pegs and he can’t wear a helmet, he shouldn’t be put on a motorcycle. If you don’t listen to your own better judgment you will pay the ultimate price.
The fact is there aren't always rules and regulations telling us what to do with our children, but there are some things we should just know as parents not to do. Of course, while the father may or may not deserve the criminal charges he possibly faces, I'm sure he'll punish himself more than the law ever could, and there's nothing he can do to change what happened. At this point the best we can hope for is that his story serves as a warning to others, and perhaps prevents a similar, senseless tragedy from taking another innocent life.
Would you ever let your children ride on a motorcycle? What other senseless risks do you see people take with their children's lives?
Image via Elvert Barnes/Flickr
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Comments 103
When my relatives ask us if we want to ride on their motorcycle, my husband and I usually say, "No thanks. We TREAT people who ride motorcycles." For adults, big deal. Adults make choices. But putting a baby on a motorcycle will only be appropriate when the human baby body evolves to the point that it can make contact with cement at speeds greater than 1/64 of a mile per hour without injury. Until then, bad idea. And what does it matter what some of your parents used to do? Many of us are old enough that our parents didn't fasten us into seat belts during car rides. Because I lived through that doesn't make mean they were right. It means I was lucky. Because a lot of kids didn't survive that.
I feel so bad for this family. I have always allowed my husband to ride with our children around the block but only if that child knows the rules of the bike (Hard toed shoes, hands on sides of DH, helmet worn, and no distracting DH) I wouldn't allow a child under 3/4 (depends on the child) on a motorcycle at all. They are to young to understand. Even the most experienced riders like my DH (22yrs on a bike and 10yrs doing stunt bikes) and my dad (45yrs on a bike) wouldn't allow a child that small because it is a distraction for the driver. This is a sad accident. We live in Arkansas and legally only one of our children (he is 9) is allowed on the bike with a helmet (there is no adult helmet law) We live on a short street with the speed limit at 10 (dh usually goes 8 on his cruiser with the kids) Everyone on our street knows that we do this including the cop next door. Our cop neighbor has even allowed his daughter who is 6 (same age as mine) on the bike with the same rules we have. He has also seen how DH handles bikes on the road and off. There is always a potiental for accidents and that is where experience in bike riding comes. Plus for future reference it is never safe to have anyone ride between the driver and the bars on any bike, if they can't sit on the back seat they have no buisness being on a motorcycle.
I love motorcycles, I love kids, I would never mix them in that way at that age, what was he thinking?! And no helmet either. Wherever this happened needs pillion age restriction and helmet laws and that's just for a start!
we take our kids on the motorcycle around our apartment complex, but the little ones (4 and 6) sit between me and their father, wear jackets and a helmet and know the rules for riding. if we were to ever fall, he and i would take the brunt of it and the kids would be cushioned. my 11 year old has his own helmet and leather jacket and sometimes gets to ride to school on the bike.
this child was on the FRONT, with no protection and was incapable of holding on, nor could the father hold on to him. there is a right way and a wrong way to enjoy motorcyles with your kids. he was in the WRONG and needs the book thrown at him.