All Terrain Vehicles, ATVs are some of the most dangerous vehicles ever marketed to American consumers. They are notorious for frequent rollovers, even at very low speeds and on very slight grades.
Hundreds of ATV drivers and passengers have been injured or killed when their vehicle rolled over. The most frequent injuries, including fractures and crushed limbs, have been to riders' legs, ankles and feet. The injuries have frequently been so severe that amputation has been required. Drivers and passengers have been killed when their ATV rolled over on them and crushed them. Because of their smaller size, children are especially vulnerable in ATV rollovers, and many children have lost their lives from riding in an ATV
Safety on ATVs has been a major concern since Honda introduced the first ATV to the US in1971. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission started keeping statistics on ATV injuries and deaths in 1982, and has documented more than 2 million injuries in ATV accidents, and 8000 deaths. In 2004, the latest year for which statistics are available an estimated 136,100 ATV-related injuries were treated in US hospital emergency room, and 767 people died in fatal ATV accidents. In 2005 the risk of injury was 171.5 injuries per 10,000 four-wheel ATVs in use. The risk of death in 2004 was 1.1 deaths per 10,000 four-wheelers in use.
Risks for Children in ATVs Children under 16 are the most vulnerable group of ATV riders, comprising more than a quarter of all ATV injuries and deaths. The American Academy of Pediatrics has called ATV use by children "the perfect recipe for tragedy," and in 2000, the Academy made a statement recommending against the use of ATVs by children under 16, saying, "The safe use of ATVs requires the same or greater skill, judgment, and experience as needed to operate an automobile." The American College of Orthopedic Surgeons, whose physician members see the outcomes of children's accidents in ATVs calls children's use of ATVs "a significant public health risk."
The costs of these ATV injuries and deaths are substantial, not only to the families whose loved one is injured or killed, but to the general public. The US Consumer Products Safety Commission has estimated that taxpayers and employers pay more $3 billion a year in medical expenses for ATV injuries through government and private insurance
ATV Industry Leaves Safety Up to Riders Safety issues haven't put a dent in ATV sales. ATV's are now a $5 billion dollar industry in the US, and the ATV manufacturers have even created their own organization, the ATV Safety Institute. The institute acknowledges that ATV's can tip and roll over, but it rolls the responsibility for accidents back to drivers. If the driver observes safe driving principles, it contends, accidents are few and far between. The implication: serious and fatal accidents are the fault of the drivers.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has not tested a single ATV for stability since 1991. Purchasers and users of ATVs now on the market must take the manufacturer's word that their vehicles are safe, for many ATV drivers and riders, that assumption has turned out to be dangerous, and sometimes fatal.
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