BOSTON (WHDH) - A Cape Cod mother is pushing for change. Her son died in a motocross accident at a state track two years ago. Now she wants tracks to do more to focus on safety.
“He had been riding since he was really little,” said Tammy Lippincott.
Colby Lippincott grew up riding dirt bikes out on wooded trails with family and friends.
“He was an experienced rider. He had been riding for over 10 years,” Lippincott said. “It was just for fun.”
Lippincott thought Colby,14, would be safer riding on a track because it was a more controlled environment.
“It was the first time he was riding a track and he went with his best friend,” Lippincott said.
But, his first time went terribly wrong. Police say after two rolling hills, Colby came around a banked turn with too much speed. He was launched into the air and hit a tree. He died from his injuries.
“My heart just breaks,” Lippincott said.
While Colby’s death was an accident, Lippincott doesn’t want what happened to her son to happen to anyone else.
“I thought the right thing to do was to send him to the track and I was wrong,” Lippincott said.
Lippincott now knows there aren’t any mandated safety regulations for motocross tracks in Massachusetts. She doesn’t think it should be that way. She is calling on state lawmakers to pass Colby’s Law (Bill HD.3928). It would establish statewide safety standards for dirt bike racing facilities, better known as motocross tracks.
“They are hiding behind dirt biking is a dangerous sport,” Lippincott said while speaking at the State House in March. “We get that, but, maybe there are protections.”
7 Investigates reviewed how often police have been called to the seven motocross tracks in Massachusetts. Police call logs show at least 179 people have been taken to the hospital from the tracks in the last five years.
State Representative Steve Xiarhos, who wrote Colby’s Law, says since the tracks are not required to report medical incidents, no one knows for sure how many bikers have been seriously hurt or worse.
“There should be a way to go on a link and find out about the actual numbers and that would be a smart thing to have,” said Xiahros, of Barnstable’s 5th District. “We don’t want another family to go through heartbreak.”
If Colby’s Law passes, all tracks would be required to conduct annual safety inspections, add safety features like barriers and netting, carry liability insurance and have a certified medical professional present during events.
“We need to make it where if you’re going to visit a track that you know it’s safe. Reasonably safe,” said Xiarhos. “There is danger to riding, but you can prevent things.”
The owners of Capeway Rovers in Carver say they take safety seriously.
“We want a safe place for people to come. We want our track to be safe,” said Co-Owner Mike Tripp. “Want people to come back. We want people to go home safely.”
Tripp says he maintains the track all week long and has barriers in place to help protect riders. He also says the track pays for medical personnel to be at every race.
“If a rider goes down and it’s extremely bad, we red-flag the race. Everybody gets off the track, the medical crew can come out and do what they need to do, and get them off the track in the safest manner,” said Trackside Support Erik Burns.
Not everyone wants to green light new regulations. Some in the motocross community fear the cost of upgrades and the required insurance could put tracks out of business.
“The liability insurance that they’re asking tracks to require is costly,” said Motocross Advocate Kathy Carney. “That would put a big financial burden on the tracks.”
“To us it’s a necessity. We wouldn’t run without it,” said Tripp. “It’s worth the money.”
For Colby’s Mom, it’s not about shutting tracks down. It’s about making them safer.
“I feel like as a mom, when it happens, it’s an accident, but, when it keeps happening, it’s not an accident, it’s preventable and we can do better,” Lippincott said.
Colby’s family says they’re racing against the clock now. It’s been 19 months since Colby’s Law was filed. If it isn’t passed by July 31 when the legislative session ends, they’ll be forced to start over from scratch.
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