Defusing the Two-Wheeled Menace

Physicians who work with children and teen-agers in their daily practice are in a good position to help to reduce the severity of what is rapidly turning into an epidemic. On page 55 of this issue ofThe Journal, Speca and Cowell discuss the trauma resulting from the use by youngsters of minibikes, bicycles, go-carts, and motorcycles. They suggest that if the incidence for the entire country is similar to that of Wilmington, Del, approximately 10,000 operators of these vehicles end up in an emergency room each summer. We hold no brief one way or another as to whether 10,000 such cases constitute an epidemic, but there should be no argument that 10,000 injuries, many resulting in permanent impairment, including paraplegia and amputations, constitute a serious problem. Hardly any area in the practice of preventive medicine provides physicians with as great an opportunity for satisfaction as an attempt to reduce