[7.8.08]
Senate approves tighter regulations on ATVs, snow vehicles
Wicked local Plymouth

The Senate voted Tuesday, June 24, to expand regulations for operators of all-terrain vehicles in Massachusetts. The bill will require all ATVs and snow vehicles to be registered by Sept. 1, 2008, and enforce strict age requirements in the use of these vehicles. In just the past two weeks, four children under the age of 16 were admitted to Massachusetts hospitals after ATV accidents. “This legislation, passed by the Senate, will undoubtedly save the lives of many children and stem the tide of the preventable brain injuries and paralysis that have become commonplace in the trauma centers of this Commonwealth,” said Dr. Peter T. Masiakos, a trauma surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital. Senate President Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, said the bill imposes regulations needed to keep ATV users safe and to ensure that negligent users are held accountable. “It is our obligation to make sure that unlawful use of snowmobiles and recreation vehicles is not a threat to public safety,” she said. “This bill will lessen unlawful ATV practices that harm our children and unnecessarily damage our environment.” In 2007, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation created an Off-Highway Vehicle Working Group to address growing concerns about the illegal and unsafe use of snowmobiles and recreation vehicles. Much of this bill stems from their work.

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[7.5.08]
Youth injuries down on bikes, up on ATVs
The Register-Herald

Fewer children are turning up in emergency rooms nowadays after getting hurt in bicycle crashes. Conversely, the number of walking wounded in need of bodily repair is up among juveniles riding all-terrain vehicles. What’s the difference? Safety leaders point to the use of headgear as one reason, a key provision in an extensive bicycle law that appears far more comprehensive than the one governing four-wheelers. In West Virginia, helmets are only required for riders under 15, but over the years, a cultural change has inspired widespread usage of them by adults as well. A bareheaded adult on a bicycle is a rare sight.

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[5.23.08]
Florida Supreme Court to hear ATV case that could challenge parental rights next month
Treasure Coast Palm

The death of a 14-year-old boy in an ATV accident five years ago could end up changing the way people who offer sometimes risky activities, like motorcross and watersports, to children, do business.

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