Stay the hell off the kids' track.

And if you have a kid, keep him off the big track.

While these two simple rules can introduce a modicum of inconvenience as you partake in your chosen sport, they can prevent a tragedy like the one that occurred at a motocross track in Houston on March 27, 2002.

An eight-year old was riding his minibike on the motocross track. The eight-year old's father was following him, presumably to act as a warning to other riders coming up behind the boy. The father stopped. The boy kept going. The boy crashed on a jump. The boy was landed on by a "big bike" rider. As of April 2, the boy was still in a drug-induced coma. (Updates and more details of this tragedy, as well as information about how you can help the family in this time of need, can be found at www.ktmtalk.com/jason/jason.cfm.

Whose fault was this? A lot of people's. The father should have made his boy stop before he stopped himself. If the big bike rider knew he was riding on a track with a child, he should have been more aware of that child's location. The facility should have had more flag personnel stationed at the jumps, assuming any were working the track in the first place. The track should not have let big bikes and minibikes ride together on the same track.

Of course, when blame is spread, it's spread thin. Without knowing the finite details of the situation -- Did the facility have separate big bike and minibike tracks? Was the father/son/other rider on the wrong track? Were specified big bike/minibike track times being ignored? Were flag personnel on duty? Was the big bike rider not paying attention? Was the hurt boy not paying attention? -- it's impossible to lay definitive fault on one party. However, by following two simple rules, if made possible by the facilities, the riders could have prevented this. Stay off the kids' track, and if you have a kid, keep him off the big track.

What's troubling is the unlucky young man injured in Texas wasn't the only minibike rider practicing on a big track with big bikes this March, who was separated from his father at times and being passed by other riders on big bikes. Another such kid was my son, Noah.

I fancy myself a good minidad, a responsible minidad, a safety-comes-first/fun-comes-second/trophy-comes-last type of minidad. Unfortunately, successful execution doesn't always follow righteous intention.

I have no excuse for letting my seven-year-old ride on a full-sized track with full-sized bikes, other than the lame justifications that there was no other track available, I followed him most of the time, that I kept him off the track when the crowd swelled to a certain point of congestion and that all the other dads were doing it. Of course, it's under such circumstances when accidents happen.

Rare is the father who would send his child out under the worst of conditions, such as on a full-sized motocross track with dozens of amateur and semi-professional riders -- half play-riding, half racing each other -- with no flag personnel, considerable dust and no adult escort. It's when we think we're being safe that we crack open the door of opportunity and allow tragedy to come crashing down on us. It's tough when you're 60 lbs. soaking wet and what comes crashing down is a 230-lb. bike with a 180-lb. rider on board.

As long as they're on a 65cc bike or smaller, none of my boys will ever again ride in a competitive practice situation with a big bike. It's disturbing that it was the misfortune of this poor boy in Texas that served as my clarion call to wise up. Thanks, kid.

Rules suck. Laws and regulations suck even more. Luckily, the consistent application of common sense can be far more effective -- and preempt -- both. But if riders and track operators don't put common sense before their wallets and fun, that common sense will be legislated for them.

After the American Motorcyclist Association's top insurer decided to stop insuring motorcycle events for 2002 and beyond, costs skyrocketed for motocross tracks and race promoters. Race fees subsequently rose and riding days were eliminated or hours were reduced. The amateur motocross industry can survive another mandated rise in costs, but not without even more fee increases, riding time restrictions and even track closings. Still riding under such a scenario for those without easy access to public lands -- another right under constant attack -- may mean not only having your own land but enough of it that your neighbors aren't disturbed by your pastime.

No one wants a congressman in Columbus, Springfield, Lansing, Indianapolis, etc., or, worse, a bureaucrat in Washington dictating the rules that govern motocross.

Stay off the kids' track. If you have a kid, keep him off the big track. If you're a track owner, make this choice an easy and accessible one.