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Jeff went to a couple of dealers and brought home brochures , which we read and kept hidden .

We went together to the Honda dealer a few weeks before Christ mas . We explained that we were interested in three ATC 70 ' s for our

Mr . BARNARD . Mrs . Vance , if you would , don ' t read so fast . Mrs . VANCE . I ' m sorry . I ' m real nervous . Mr . BARNARD . I know you are nervous , but just feel at home . These are just home folks from Tennessee .

Mrs . VANCE . We went together to the Honda dealer a few weeks before Christmas . We explained that we were interested in three ATC 70 ' s for our two sons and our nephew . We were asked their ages ; and when we said that two of them were 13 and one was 12 , we were told that the ATC 70 was too small , as it was designed for younger children . We said we wanted something small for them to ride around our farm and enjoy being outdoors .

We were told that the ATC 70 was bought for children 6 or 7 years old , and by the time a child was 11 or 12 people bought the 110 . They showed us a picture of a very young child on an ATC 70 to show us that it was intended for children younger than ours . The 70 with a heavier child wouldn ' t be as safe as the 110 .

We explained that our farm was in Gatlinburg and had some steep hills . We asked about the dangers of turning the ATC over backwards or tipping it over sideways in a turn , whether they were common in our area or mainly for use in flat land , how fast the ATC was , and had there been any injuries .

We were told that because the ATC was so heavy it was very dif ficult to flip it on steep hills or to tip it over in turns . We were told that they had sold many ATC ' s in our area , and we were given ex amples of people with mountain farms who had bought ATC ' s . On speed , we were told that there was a screw that could be adjusted for low - speed usage . We were told that they had heard of no inju ries and they had sold a lot of ATC ' s .

Jeff and I purchased three of the ATC 110 ' s deciding that it seemed the ideal way to satisfy the boys while at the same time to satisfy our desire for safety . We bought Honda helmets , also . It all sounded so good , especially since we have several miles of private dirt and lightly graveled roads on our farm .

By 5 : 30 Christmas morning , the boys were reading the Honda owner manuals that Jeff said must be read before they could ride . When the boys finished , Jeff went over it with them , asking ques tions and explaining everything . Then they went over the ATC ' s , learning the parts and how to operate them . I told the boys that they would always have to dress properly and wear helmets .

Finally , the boys got to ride . The rules were : No gear higher than second , and stay on the roads . An hour later they came in , and Matt , our 12 - year - old son , had dirt all over his side . He had turned sharp to come up the drive and the ATC tipped over into the bank . Jeff talked to them about being careful and let the

let them continue to ride . We didn ' t think they could get hurt even tipping over as slow as they were going .

Many family members had gathered at our house that Christmas Day to celebrate the holidays together . That afternoon , Bob - our 13 - year - old - Matt , and their Uncle Greg started out to ride . It was