Health & Fitness
ATV Know-How
Summer days bring out the sense of outdoor adventure in all of us; and if that means off-road fun to you, you've probably already taken your ATV out for a spin or two. But when we say "spin", we hope that doesn’t mean an "upender" or other type of accident.
A new report by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) notes that in 2011, the latest year for which figures are available, there were an estimated 107,500 ATV-related injuries seen in hospital emergency departments. Worse, between 1982 and 2011, some 11,688 people died in ATV accidents, a quarter of them children under 16 (half of them were less than 12 years old).
These are tragic numbers, so while we don’t want to spoil the fun of ATV-ing, we can’t emphasize enough the importance of safe riding and, especially, instructions for young people. This is so critical that CPSC has set up a dedicated website – ATVSafety.gov – with the blunt warning: Before you hit the trails, take knowledge to the extreme.
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The site offers six key safety tips aimed at reducing the risk of accident or injury: Get trained. Don't start or allow others to ride an ATV until you/they have completed a formal, hands-on training course.
- When riding, wear protective gear at all times. A helmet is the most important piece of kit; many ATV accidents involve head injuries.
- Don't take a passenger or ride as one, unless the bike is designed for two.
- Passengers affect the weight distribution and maneuverability of ATVs.
- Don't ride your ATV on paved roads. They're not built for that and so are difficult to control on paved surfaces.
- Don’t allow kids to drive adult ATVs. Most of the child accidents in the statistics above involved kids using adult machines.
- Don't "use" and drive! Obvious, yet, alcohol and drug use are key factors in many accidents.
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Finally, if you're looking to find an ATV rider course, use this link to the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America: http://tinyurl.com/atv-enroll.