TAKE ACTION

On Wednesday, May 9th, the Senate Commerce Committee will be holding a hearing on the topic of ATV Safety.  Please write to your elected officials on that committee and ask them to protect children from the dangers of ATV by enacting common sense safety standards that ban child riders under age 16 on public lands.

To find contact information for members of Congress go to: http://www.house.gov/writerep/

To find contact information for senators on the committee go to: http://commerce.senate.gov/

For a fact sheet on ATV safety, click here.

Sample letter:

Dear Senator___________:

My name is ___________ and I’m a member of Concerned Families for ATV Safety (www.atvsafetynet.org).

We are a network of parents dedicated to reducing injuries and deaths among children driving All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs). We provide families with information to make informed decisions about their children's safety, and to raise awareness of the need for adequate, common-sense safety standards and enforcement of ATV laws.

ATVs are important to many lifestyles, both for recreation and work.  But each year, over 40,000 American children are seriously injured or killed riding ATVs. On April 2nd, a 14-month old child was killed on an ATV in South Carolina.

Leading medical experts say children have not developed the strength, coordination or judgment needed to safely handle these powerful vehicles, which pose a greater threat to children than many other types of recreation, such as riding a bike, playing football or skateboarding among others. This growing problem devastates families and costs our nation billions of dollars in unnecessary medical and financial costs and emotional trauma.  

We can reduce and prevent the number of injuries and deaths among children from ATV accidents by adopting common sense safety standards recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics – standards that keep children under 16 off these vehicles and require teenagers to have a license to drive ATVs, just as we do for cars. 

To that end, I know that the Consumer Affairs, Insurance, and Automotive Safety subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee will be holding a hearing on May 9th on the topic of ATV Safety. As a member of this committee, I am hoping that you could address the following questions concerning the use of ATVs by children.  We will be following up with a phone call and will post answers to these questions on our organization’s website, www.atvsafetynet.org.

1. How young is too young to ride an ATV?

2. Would you put your child or grandchild on an ATV?

3. Pediatricians and top medical organizations have given unequivocal warnings against children driving ATVs. If you disagree with them, why?

4. Some ATV manufacturers endorse a ban on child drivers under the age of 16 for personal watercrafts, such as jet skies. Why are personal watercrafts more dangerous for young children than powerful ATVs?
   

Currently, the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s limited resources constrain its ability to pursue common sense ATVs standards.  The only effective response to this national tragedy is a Congressional inquiry into the dangers these vehicles, with an eye toward banning their sale and use by children under 16. 

We can put a stop to these expensive, unnecessary tragedies by enacting common-sense safety standards.  I hope you will join me in this important effort.  For more information about our campaign, I invite you to contact me or to visit our web site at www.atvsafetynet.org

We appreciate you taking time to review this letter and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,