MEDICAL SURFARI: ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES NOT TOO SAFE FOR CHILDREN

All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) were initially developed in Japan as a farm-to-town vehicle in isolated mountainous areas where roads during the rainy season were often impassable with conventional vehicles. In the 1970s they were soon promoted and sold as recreational vehicles. More recently, some sportsmen and hunters have found them useful for off-road travel to reach remote areas to transport game.

Initially three-wheeled ATVs were very popular, but it soon became apparent the triangular wheel base design was not very stable on rugged terrain, resulting in relatively easy rollover accidents. Unfortunately, many of these vehicles were sold for children, and accidents resulted in a relatively high number of permanent injuries and deaths. Consequently, in the late 1980s the Consumer Products Safety Commission negotiated a Consent Decree to prohibit the further sale of new three-wheel ATVs. Further, instead of prohibiting the sale of ATVs for the use of children, the court finalized the Consent Decree requiring manufacturers to include certain age "recommendations" in their ATV advertising.

Unfortunately, these measures have not been effective in preventing death and injury of children from ATV-related accidents. Deaths and injuries on four-wheel ATVs have steadily increased each year since their introduction, and every year almost 100 children die and 20,000 sustain major injuries riding ATVs. The manufacturer's age "recommendations" are clearly not effective in protecting children. Many ATV dealers continue to sell adult-sized ATVs for use by children. A discreet survey of dealers found 54 percent of the ATV dealers surveyed were willing to sell an ATV for use by a 10-year-old! Most of these vehicles weigh more than 500 pounds and are equipped with enough horsepower to pull the vehicle up an extremely steep grade. The problem is that children have sufficient skill to advance the throttle of these machines, but they lack the judgment that must be simultaneously applied while negotiating rugged terrain. Further, they typically do not have the body size and strength or the motor skills and coordination needed to safely handle an ATV.

As a neurosurgeon, I have evaluated and treated many people, including children, with all-terrain vehicle-related injuries that have resulted in paraplegia, quadriplegia, brain injury and sometimes death. I have held the hands and lent my shoulder to many sobbing parents as they hold their paralyzed or dead child, and I can tell you that these experiences have left an indelible impression that children were not meant to operate ATVs.

World Wide Web Resources

Safe Use of ATVs on the Farm

www.cdc.gov/niosh/nasd/docs/as04500.html

This site by the Centers for Disease Control and the University of Florida describes safety measures when using ATVs for agricultural use.

Safe Use of All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs)

www.vu.edu/~agexten/ageng/atvsafe.htm

The West Virginia University Extension Service has some safety tips for anyone who owns or is thinking of purchasing an ATV.