A local ATV enthusiast and safety advocate says a group of young riders “dodged a bullet” in a recent incident in Torbay.

The young teens clipped a younger child while passing a school bus that was letting students off. The 14-year-old driver was charged, while his father is facing charges for allowing the teen to operate the machine unattended.

The President of the Avalon T’Railway Council, Rick Noseworthy, says the ultimate responsibility lies with parents.

“These machines aren’t babysitters,” says Noseworthy.

“You take your child and you put him on this machine and he leaves your house; do you think that he just pushes it down the road and goes to a grassy field, drives around in circles and comes home? That’s not the reality. We could have lost three kids, probably even four.”