Mr . BARNARD . Thirteen to 15 . Were you operating this on an off road mode at the time ? Mr . ABRAMS . Yes , sir .

Mr . BARNARD . In other words , you weren ' t operating it on a paved road or a highway of any sort ?

Mr . ABRAMS . No , sir . Mr . BARNARD . Or anything of that kind ? Mr . ABRAMS . No , sir . Mr . BARNARD . Mr . Craig ?

Mr . Craig . Mr . Chairman , I have no questions of these witnesses . I really do appreciate their testimony .

I have before me a 1984 Honda Operating Manual that is stand ard equipment with the owner of each machine . On the flip side of the cover , in bold red print it states , and it is outlined with slash marks , “ Important notice . ” I will only read the bulleted or targeted statements .

“ Operator only . ” No passenger .

" Off - road use only . ” And it describes those and it speaks of con forming with U . S . EPA noise standards , Federal motorized vehicle safety standards .

It also says : “ Read the owner ' s manual carefully . Pay special at tention to statements preceding the following words . ” And in itali cized letters it said : “ Warning , ” and that is in bold print with a hand mark , an international warning sign , " Indicates a strong pos sibility for severe personal injuries or a loss of life if instructions are not followed .

" Caution : Indicates a possibility of personal injury or equipment damage if instructions are not followed , ” and so on and so forth . It prescribes methods of use , techniques of use , and cautions involved .

Thank you , Mr . Chairman . · Mr . BARNARD . Mrs . Vance , when your three youngsters read that , if that is what they read , do you really think they compre hended all of that ?

Mrs . VANCE . I don ' t think that is in the 1982 owner ' s manual . I read it , also . Of course it has been a long time , but I don ' t believe that the 1982 manual had the same things in it . That is a 1984 .

Mr . BARNARD . So , in other words , you do not - - Mrs . VANCE . It said dress properly , wear a helmet , it may have said stay off the main roads , I don ' t know .

Mr . BARNARD . Mr . Vance , of course we are delighted to have you here this morning . Let me just ask you a question if you don ' t mind .

For the record , let it be known that Mr . Vance is here . What is your full name , Mr . Vance ? Mr . VANCE . Jeff Vance . Mr . BARNARD . Mr . Jeff Vance of Gatlinsburg , TN .

Mr . Vance , were you assured or did you feel confident that your boys understood what they were doing ?

Mr . VANCE . I felt sure with the warnings that we had and the representations from the dealership that this would be a safe vehi cle I would say as long as they were used to riding it , got to the point where they were used to riding it .