Protect children on ATVs

It would be wonderful if all parents were so committed to their children's well-being that laws requiring them to attend school were unnecessary.

It would be wonderful if all parents kept up with their children's health needs and didn't need the law to make them vaccinate their children for public school.

But not everyone does right by children without being instructed by the law.

It is past time for South Carolina to pass a law to protect children from injuries and death due to all-terrain vehicle accidents.

Two attempts to pass Chandler's Law, which sets age limits, requires safety gear and compels young ATV users to complete a safety course, were vetoed by then Gov. Mark Sanford who said it infringed on parents' rights. But it isn't meddling when the alternative is children's lives being wrecked by brain damage, or worse, being ended.

Indeed, Chandler's Law calls for parents to exercise common sense. It says ATV operators must be at least 9 years old; those under 16 must complete a safety course, wear a helmet and eye protection and adhere to the manufacturer's suggested age restrictions. Only operators with drivers licenses can carry passengers. And an adult must accompany a driver under the age of 16 riding on public land.

If parents aren't agreeable to providing these basics to safeguard their children, they should be required by law to do so.

Some Charleston emergency room physicians, led by Keith Borg of the Medical University of South Carolina, are crusading for the new law. They have had to tell families that their brain-damaged children are not likely to recover. They have seen deaths.

The S.C. Children's Hospital Collaborative, a non-profit group that represents the state's four children's hospitals, says about 450 children are injured in ATV accidents annually in South Carolina. And the number of deaths is growing along with ATVs' popularity. In 2005, five children were killed. Three years later, 11 died.

Chandler Saylor, a 16-year-old boy, died of a brain injury after an ATV accident in May of 2003. Some doctors have said that the bill named for him doesn't go far enough. Nine is too young to drive an ATV. The risk is too great. They're probably right.

But as for now, doing anything less than Chandler's Law would show a lack of concern for the well-being of children.