The ride-on safety checklist

Nothing here takes long. The point of a checklist is that it turns five separate judgment calls into one habit, and the faults it catches are the ones that are cheap now and expensive later.

1. The speed setting

Check it is where you left it. Dashboard high/low switches are easy for a four-year-old to find, and a child who discovered the fast setting last week will start there this week. If the vehicle has a remote, confirm the handset is in your hand and its batteries work before the child gets in — not after.

2. The belt

Buckled, and adjusted to the child as they are dressed today. A belt set for a t-shirt is loose over a winter coat, and a loose three-point belt does less than a correctly fitted lap belt. On a quad or a motorcycle there is no belt, which means the speed setting is doing the entire job.

3. The wheels

Look at the hub, where the axle passes through — not the tread. A hairline crack radiating from the axle hole is the beginning of the one failure mode that can genuinely hurt someone at speed. Also check the retaining caps are present; a wheel held on by friction alone will come off.

4. The battery connector

Seated properly, and not warm from the last session. A connector that is warm is carrying more current than it should, usually because the contacts have corroded and the resistance has risen. A connector that is discoloured, deformed or smells of hot plastic should be replaced before the vehicle is used again — it is a $13 part and a genuine fire risk.

5. The surface

Flat, enclosed, away from driveways and the road. No slopes. If the only flat space available is the driveway, the answer is to wait for a different space rather than to supervise harder — see are ride-on cars safe for why.

• Tighten the wheel nuts and seat bolts. Vibration loosens everything on a ride-on. A seat that rocks is bolts, not a broken frame.
• Check the charger lead for damage. Particularly where it enters the plug body, which is where repeated flexing cracks the insulation.
• Clean the battery terminals. A light gray powder is normal oxidation; wipe it off. Green or white crust means moisture is getting in, which needs the storage fixed as well as the terminals.
• Check the steering for play. Some is normal. A steering wheel that turns an inch before the wheels move has a worn linkage, which gets worse but is not urgent.
• Listen to the gearboxes. A new whine under load, especially on one side only, is gearbox teeth beginning to round off. See ride-on car won’t drive.

After a winter in storage, three things need attention before the first ride:

The battery. A sealed lead-acid battery left flat for a season will often not recover. Charge it fully and then check it holds under load — a battery that reads correct voltage but collapses as soon as the vehicle moves has lost its capacity and needs replacing. See battery replacement.

The weight limit, against the child. They have grown. A vehicle that fitted last spring may be over its limit now, and the symptoms (slow, short run time, hot motors) read exactly like a battery problem. Weigh the child and check the number — see weight limits.

Moisture damage. Look inside the battery compartment and at the receiver board for corrosion. The full storage treatment is on weather and storage, and the longer maintenance routine is on the maintenance checklist.

1. Flat, enclosed surface. Never the road, never the driveway, never a slope.
2. Speed setting checked and set before the child gets in.
3. Helmet above walking pace, and always on two wheels.
4. An adult outside with the vehicle, not in the next room.
5. One rider per seat, and both children’s weight inside the published limit.