To prevent injuries and deaths, ATV should be kept off paved roads

Even though driving an ATV on the road might be allowed in your town, the Consumer Product Safety Commission recently released an announcement urging ATV users to stay off paved roads.

According to the agency, ATVs which are designed for off road use are more difficult to control on paved surfaces and are at risk of over turning. Obviously there is also a higher risk of collision with cars and other motor vehicles when driving an ATV on a paved road.

ATVs are dangerous vehicles. Between 2010 and 2013, 430,000 people were treated for injuries related to ATV accidents and 2,400 died from these accidents. Among the 2,400 deaths, 770 occurred on a paved road, That’s more than 30% of all ATV deaths.

Additionally to avoiding driving on paved roads, ATV users should always make sure to protect themselves by wearing adequate gears such has helmet, boots, gloves, long pants and long sleeve shirts.

Children at risk

Parents should make sure that young riders use a model which is appropriate for their age and not an adult model. No extra passengers should be allowed on the vehicle.

From 1982 to 2016, the CPSC received 3,232 reports of children under the age of 16 year-old dying in ATV accidents. That’s more than 20% of all ATV fatalities. Among them, 44% were younger than 12-year-old. The CPSC also estimates that 101,200 ATV users visited the emergency room to be treated after an accident. An estimated 26% of them were children younger than 16-year-old. Contusions, abrasions and fractures affecting the arm from shoulder to fingertips, the head, the neck, the legs and the torso were among the most common injuries treated in emergency rooms for ATV related accidents.

For more safety tips visit the ATV Safety Information Center

For more information about ATVs accidents in the US, download the 2016 Annual Report of A TV-Related Deaths and Injuries 

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