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THE FACTS ABOUT WHY ATVs AND CHILDREN DON’T MIX
ATVs are important to many lifestyles, both for recreation and work. However,
pediatricians and leading medical groups say young children haven’t
developed the strength, coordination or judgment needed to safely handle
these powerful machines.
Nationwide, ATVs seriously injure and kill over
40,000 of children under age 16 every year. The following facts highlight
a growing problem and the very real costs to families and society at
large, and underscore the need to enact common sense safety standards
that keep children under age 16 from driving these powerful vehicles.
America’s Doctors Believe ATVs Too Dangerous
for Children Under 16
- The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and American Academy of
Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOP) have adopted formal policies recommending
that children under age 16 not drive ATVs.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics
states: “Laws should prohibit
the use of ATVs, on- or off-road, by children and adolescents younger
than 16 years. An automobile driver’s license, and preferably
some additional certification in ATV use, should be required to operate
an ATV. The safe use of ATVs requires the same or
greater skill, judgment, and experience as needed to operate an automobile.”(AAP,
Policy Statement, All-Terrain Vehicle Injury Prevention: Two-, Three-,
and Four-Wheeled Unlicensed Motor Vehicles, 2000)
- The American Academy of Pediatrics also describes child ATV use as “the perfect recipe for tragedy.” (AAP
press release, July 13, 2005)
- The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons explains: “In
light of statistics that show an inordinate number of injuries
and deaths resulting from the use of ATVs, the American Academy
of Orthopaedic Surgeons considers ATVs to be a significant public
health risk. . . The minimum age of 16 for operating
an ATV on or off the road should be enforced. Children under
the age of 12 generally possess neither the body size and strength,
nor the motor skills and coordination necessary for the safe handling
of an ATV. Children under age 16 generally have not yet developed
the perceptual abilities or the judgment required for the safe
use of highly powered vehicles.”(emphasis in original) (AAOS,
Position Statement, All-Terrain Vehicles, 1992). Click here to see an AAOS advertisement about the tremendous dangers ATVs pose to riders.
Deaths
- Over the past decade, the number of children killed in off-road vehicle
accidents increased by 88%. (Consumer Product Safety Commission,
2005 and
1995 Annual Report of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)-Related Deaths and
Injuries)
- 120 children died in off-road vehicle accidents in 2005 compared
to 64 in 1995. (Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2005 Annual
Report of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)-Related Deaths and Injuries)
- Between 1995 and 2005, ATVs killed at least 1,218 children under
age 16. These children account for 27 percent of all ATV-related
deaths during this period. (Consumer Product Safety Commission,
2005 Annual Report of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)-Related Deaths and
Injuries)
Serious Injuries
- Over the past decade, the number of children hospitalized increased
by 109%. (Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2005 Annual Report
of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)-Related Deaths and Injuries)
- More than 44,000 children were hospitalized due to accidents on
ATVs in 2005 compared to 19,300 in 1995. (Consumer Product Safety
Commission, 2005 Annual Report of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)-Related
Deaths and Injuries)
- Children
under 16 accounted for 30% of all off-road vehicle injuries in 2005. (Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2005 Annual Report
of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)-Related Deaths and Injuries)
- Not
surprisingly, the injury RISK for children drivers (7.6) is much
higher than for drivers over the age of 16 (5.1). (Fiscal Year 2005 CPSC Briefing Package, pg. 13)
- The vast majority of
children who were injured (63%) were driving at the time of the accident.
37% of those injured were passengers. (Fiscal Year 2005 CPSC Briefing Package, pg. 2)
ATV Injuries More Severe than Other Recreational
Activities
- The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) concludes that nine
percent of injuries children receive from ATVs result in hospitalization
compared to two percent of injuries caused by the 15,000 other consumer
products over which the Commission has jurisdiction. (Fiscal Year 2005 CPSC Briefing Package pg. 70)
- With respect to other recreational
activities and many common sports, ATV driving has the highest risk of hospitalization of 33 sports and activities
in which children routinely participate, including riding a bike, snowboarding, skateboarding,
wrestling, basketball and scooter riding. The risk of serious
injury associated with driving ATVs is 61 percent greater than the
activity with the next highest risk (football). (Fiscal Year 2005 CPSC Briefing Package pg. 158-9)
Costs to Society
- For children under 16, CPSC estimates that ATV-related injuries requiring
emergency room treatment cost society $2.5 billion annually in medical
and economic costs and emotion trauma. (Fiscal Year 2005 CPSC Briefing Package pg. 123)
- Child
ATV deaths and associated financial costs increased from $493 million
in 1999 to $723 million in 2003 (Helmkamp, JC And Lawrence, BA. The
Economic Burden Of All-Terrain Vehicle-Related Pediatric Deaths In
The United States. Pediatrics, Vol 119 No 1 January 2007, Ppg 223-225.)
ATV Industry’s Role
- The off-road vehicle industry supports a ban on children under age
16 using personal watercrafts, such jet skis, and even help state legislatures
draft bills to that effect. Yet, the industry not only opposes a ban
on children riding ATVs but also aggressively markets these powerful
vehicles to child riders.
http://www.pwia.org/relations/modellegislation.aspx; http://www.pwia.org/relations/state/map.aspx
- Voluntary standards agreed to by the industry have not worked. According
to Dr. Jim Helmlkamp of the West Virginia University Injury
Control Research Center: “It seems that little has changed in
the past 20 years despite continuous, but relatively benign, national
efforts to improve ATV safety through a federal decree, voluntary agreements
between manufacturers and distributors, safety alerts, public hearings,
and a recent top-to-bottom CPSC review of all existing ATV safety standards.”
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