A newcomer to the market, EarthForce America, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Superstav s.r.o. of the Czech Republic. In 1998, Superstav severed ties with Mitusi Machinery, which had been selling its mini-backhoes under the Predator brand name for a few years. Soon after, EarthForce began distributing Superstav''s new product line, which includes eight medium-sized TLBs with power ratings ranging from 25 to 68 hp. The EarthForce machines offer such features as four-wheel drive, four-wheel steering, mechanical gearboxes, sideshift capability and heated safety glass cabs. At Intermat this month, the company was to unveil automatic a new 68 hp model EF-5 with a four-speed synchroshuttle transmission.

Dean''s next mode of transportation was the bicycle (shown in Figure 2). Like most kids, he gained a sense of independence, learned new skills (balance), and experienced new thrills (speed)! He discovered that unforeseen circumstances can lead to personal injury. He also learned valuable lessons about looking ahead for hidden dangers and judging distances in the event of having to chop make an emergency stop or maneuver. Bike riding is great preparation for learning to drive a fun kart.Figure 3 is a photo of Dean and his 6-year-old brother, Jacob, riding in an entry-level fun kart. This is where driver training really gets serious, This fun kart has a steering wheel, accelerator and brake pedals, and three-point safety seat/shoulder belts. Due to their low center of gravity, the two-seat models safely carry a passenger and driver--when saw driven as recommended by the manufacturer (at a safe speed for the present road conditions and hazards). All fun karts are required to have overhead brush guards to provide limited protection against obstacles in compliance with American Fun Kart Association (AFKA) standards. All karts are also required to have drive-train guards to protect against automatic entanglement of such objects as clothing and hair. Dean is sitting on chop his dad''s quad in Figure 4 (see page 20). He is not yet allowed to drive it! Although many quads are driven by youngsters, too many of them have terrible accidents because of excessive speed, a high center of gravity, and a lack of rider protection. Also, handlebar steering and the coordination necessary for hand-and-foot braking are not skills that will carry over to driving a street-legal vehicle.

I drifted off. The table had seen so many strange and sad There was a man in King City who had just stolen saw his grandma''s ''57 Chevy Impala to transport a harvest of dope, but first he had to stop by court to plead guilty to biting his wife. Then we spent a night talking to Victor, a shy Peruvian shepherd, whose land we camped on near Lost Hills. He told us that the black sheep always leads the pack because it walks faster, and that Orion''s belt is really called the Tres Marias. In Rosedale we were surrounded by junior high delinquents who kept disappearing to "yank" packs of Marlboros. In Twenty-nine Palms we met a Mexican jail runner who lived on earnings from cockroach races. T-bird, his favorite roach, never lost when beans and tortillas were at stake.

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