The Editor,
Re: "Girl, 5, hurt in ATV accident," the Now, April 15.
I was very disappointed to see this headline.
Upon further reading, I found it was not an ATV accident but she fell from an unmoving ATV and hit her head. While this is tragic, what would the headline have been if she had fallen from a chair; "Girl, 5, hurt in seating accident"?
Having been in the Powersports industry for most of my life, I tire of these types of sensationalized headlines about our industry that try to portray it as dangerous and unsupervised. Has anyone asked the questions: "Why was she being strapped in?" I have never heard of an ATV where anyone gets "strapped in." Does she have a disability? "Why was she anywhere near an ATV without a helmet securely fastened to her head?"
ATVs are often painted as extremely dangerous, yet, if used properly, they are less dangerous than going to work every day. This kind of over-the-top headline helps tarnish the image of an otherwise well-crafted newspaper.
Marq C Smith, Western Powersports, Surrey