HealthDay reported that a study published online in the journal Pediatrics found that “riding ATVs poses high risks of injury or death for children and teens.” The largest risk factor, “children riding adult-sized ATVs, was involved in 95 percent of all deaths” studied. The other top reasons children and teens are killed or seriously injured on ATVs include riding on roads, for which the vehicles aren’t designed; “carrying or riding as a passenger; and not wearing a helmet.” Lead researcher Gerene Denning, director of emergency medicine research at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in Iowa City, said that children’s deaths on ATVs increased between 2001 and 2004, attributing it “to more unsafe riding on roads using heavier and faster ATVs.” The article paraphrased her as saying that “engineering improvements in safety, such as shorter seats and requirements to meet stability and crashworthiness standards, would help prevent injuries.”
From the news release of the American Association for Justice.
Photo by imagery majestic, via freedigitalphotos.net.
