Safety experts offer advice on avoiding all-terrain-vehicle accidents
In order to prevent the annual rise in all terrain vehicle related deaths this summer, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission is urging people to stay safe on the trails. The urge everyone to stay safe by following some simple rules such as wearing the proper safety gear (helmet, gloves, goggles, etc.), Hands on training can greatly reduce injury and is highly recommended. If an all terrain vehicle has been designated as a single rider vehicle, do not ride as a passenger on it or carry a passenger if you are operating it. Children under 6 years of age should not ride as passengers in an adult sized all terrain vehicle, and children under the age of 16 years old, have not developed the fine motor skills required to safely operate an ATV, should never drive an all terrain vehicle manufactured to adult specifications. More than 9 out of ten all terrain vehicle related injuries suffered by children involve a vehicle operated by a child under the age of 16. Between the years of 2004 and 2010, according to data collected by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, an average of 700 people were killed each year in all terrain vehicle related accidents, and approximately 136,000 people visited emergency room for the treatment of injuries, many of them serious, suffered in ATV incidents. In 2012 to date, 130 adults and 28 children have been killed in accidents involving an all terrain vehicle, according to a preliminary report released by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
