Mr . KOLTER . As far as your youngster , he was by himself ? Mrs . VANCE . Yes , sir . Mr . McKINLEY . I was by myself . Mr . KOLTER . You were by yourself . Mr . Abrams ? Mr . ABRAMS . I was by myself . Mr . KOLTER . You were by yourself . Mr . McKINLEY . There was probably half a dozen other guys with three - wheelers there at the time , though , even though they didn ' t witness my accident .

Mr . KOLTER . Well , I think it is interesting to note that the testi mony we hear from the Vances on up to Mr . McKinley indicate that in some cases we ought to eliminate the three - wheelers , but also in some cases , Mr . Chairman , what we ought to do is ensure that we have some safety resulting in this , like the use of helmets and attaining a certain age possibly before you are permitted to drive this vehicle , which to me makes it a lot of merit .

Thank you , Mr . Chairman . Mr . BARNARD . Mr . Erdreich ? Mr . ERDREICH . Thank you , Mr . Chairman .

Following up on Congressman Kolter ' s questions , which I thought were excellent , I guess part of what I also hear is the testi mony that possibly these vehicles are unsafe at any speed , Mr . Chairman , which I think somebody wrote that about some other sort of vehicles of an earlier era .

I was curious , Mr . Abrams , as to whether at the time that you started first riding this sort of vehicle had you had any experience with any other sort of vehicle , motor driven ?

Mr . ABRAMS . I had had experience with a go - cart as well as a trail bike .

Mr . ERDREICH . Mr . McKinley , you testified , of course , that you were an experienced driver of trucks as well as other vehicles at that time ?

Mr . McKINLEY . I was experienced in motorcycle riding , too . I had ridden motorcycles for several years .

Mr . ERDREICH . I am curious from the Vances as well . Had your kids had any experience with any other motor vehicle at the time that they had this experience ?

Mrs . VANCE . None . We never let them ride any motorcycle . Mr . ERDREICH . Any other equipment , farm or whatever ? Any other sort of activity ? Mrs . VANCE . No , sir .

Mr . ERDREICH . Mrs . Crisp , as well , of course , your husband was at an age I take it he was a seasoned driver .

Mrs . CRISP . He was 43 years old and had a clean driving record . Drove snowmobiles for the past 4 years . Also , the trike , and we had a 27 - foot boat . And he was never involved in any type of accident .

Mr . ERDREICH . Again , Mr . Abrams , from your experience , and at that time I take it you would be , what , an eighth grader , or going to ninth grade ?

Mr . ABRAMS . Yes , sir .

Mr . ERDREICH . All right . Had you had any sort of training experi ence at school ? Any sort of school programs that would have given you experience in the driving of any sort of vehicle ?