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Riley Hospital Calls Attention to ATV Safety
06/03/2008
Indianapolis - With the warm weather upon us and students dismissed for summer break, children have more time available to participate in various recreational activities, including riding all-terrain vehicles (ATV). ATVs become a growing concern as the number of injuries or deaths resulting from ATV use increases nationwide.
"Every year, we see children who have suffered trauma due to ATV accidents, most of which are preventable," said Dr. Robert Collins, medical director of Emergency Services, Riley Hospital for Children. "The ATV is only as capable as the rider. It is imperative that children receive proper safety training, ride an appropriately-sized vehicle and are adequately supervised. Additionally, no child should ever be allowed on an ATV without protective head gear."
According to the ATV Safety Institute, there are approximately seven million ATVs in use throughout the United States being operated by more than 15 million Americans. Almost 90 percent of youth ATV-related injury accidents occur when a youth is operating an adult-sized ATV, vehicles weighing up to 1,000 pounds. Also, males account for 69 percent of the estimated 2,246 nonfatal youth ATV-related injuries each year and less than 4 percent of injured ATV riders participated in formal safety training.
From 1999-2006, Clarian Health, including Riley Hospital for Children, treated 351 children younger than 18 years of age for ATV-related injuries. Four resulted in fatalities. As seen nationally, more males, 73 percent, were treated for ATV injuries than females at Clarian. The following age groups represent the percentage of injuries:
The mean length of stay for an ATV injury is 7.07 days and counties with more than 10 ATV incidents treated at Clarian include: Bartholomew, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Marion, Morgan and Putnam.