And in Connecticut in August, a nail-gun incident highlighted the importance of training and supervision, as horseplay between two carpenters almost turned deadly. The New Haven Register reported that carpenter Eric Haslob was in the hospital recovering from surgery to repair his heart after fellow carpenter Joseph Dupont fired a finish nail into Haslob''s heart by accident as the two were fooling around on the job. A supervisor told the paper he had warned the two friends against horseplay just the day before.

I enlisted the services of my 10-year-old grandson, Dean, to help me in the preparation of the material for these articles. Figures 1-5 show Dean astride a progression of vehicles designed first for very young children up to vehicles, which require a great deal of skill to operate, for older children and young adults. Each of these vehicles provides unique opportunities to begin teaching children safe, competent, driving skills that are age-appropriate to the learner.When Dean was about 3 years old, he received his first battery-powered riding toy: a Power Wheels vehicle shown in Figure 1. By the time Dean was 5 years old, he had pretty well outgrown it. Although it only lasted him a short time, the Power Wheels is an excellent tool for pre-schoolers to begin learning initial driving skills.

The backhoe has a powder-coat finish in bright red and yellow. Features include: heavy-duty, self-contained frame, standard 9 HP Briggs industrial motor, balloon tires, highway-rated tires, support legs, boom arms, specially shaped bucket for increased digging, replaceable teeth, four-spool control valve, and special hydraulic cylinders. Four models are available, two of which can be towed, and two can be attached to three point hitches. Options include a choice of 9 or 12 ft. reach from boom pivot and buckets in a choice of 12 in. width for digging or an 8 in. width for trenching. Model BL70 backhoe, with 90-hp. engine, digs to depths of 14 1/2 ft. and lifts 7,619 lbs. Loader bucket holds 1.3 cu. yds. Cab boasts 360 [degrees] visibility. Choose from 2 backhoe control lever configurations. Spring-applied, pressure-released lock secures boom. Store tools, grease guns, and chains in tool box integrated in left steps. Heavy-duty, single-piece chassis tapers at front for 55 [degrees] steering angle. Integral bucket-mounted flipover pallet forks, which measure 42 ins.

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