What Parents Should Know

FACT

Injuries and fatalities are increasing dramatically, especially among children under 16.

Children under 16 accounted for 28 percent of fatalities between 1982 and 2007. Even more frightening, nearly half of the children killed in ATV accidents are younger than 12.

FACT

The sheer size and weight of ATVs, plus the complexity of operation, pose horrific dangers to children.

An average ATV can weigh more than 500 pounds, and has complicated controls that are difficult to operate.  Navigating an ATV safely requires more strength and coordination than most children under 16 can muster. Yet 95% of children who have been injured in ATV accidents were riding adult-sized vehicles.

FACT

Engines are getting bigger and more powerful; many ATVs can go as fast as 75 miles an hour.

On most American streets and highways, we don’t let adults – much less
children – drive 75 miles an hour. Yet, with little or no regulation, youngsters are roaring over uneven terrain at high speed, encouraged by ATV advertising and macho magazine articles.

FACT

In most states, a 16 year old must take driver education and be licensed to drive an automobile. There are no such rules for ATVs.

In a majority of states, a young person is not eligible to drive a
car until reaching 16 and passing a driver’s test to obtain a license.
It is only a slight exaggeration to say that driving an ATV is open to children barely out of diapers. In Utah, children as young as 8 may drive an ATV, while New York, Maine and Pennsylvania require an ATV driver to be 10 years old.

FACT

Doctors who see the under-16 carnage are pushing for minimum age limits for driving ATVs, and for training and licensing.

Orthopedic surgeons, pediatricians, and other medical specialists who treat children maimed in ATV accidents have challenged the self-regulation approach of the ATV industry. Yet little has been done to impose mandatory safety measures that will save lives. For the time being, it is left to responsible parents to “no.”