Post by Wyldcomfort on Aug 30, 2007 23:57:30 GMT -5
ATV accidents are increasing
Hundreds of riders are killed nationwide each year
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
BY DARRYL R. ISHERWOOD
Emily Marshall was 12 when the all-terrain vehicle she was driving rolled over on her, pinning the young girl beneath its nearly quarter-ton bulk.
The accident that killed the West Amwell girl on Friday has left her father shattered, wondering how to cope with the loss of his child.
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But Marshall is not alone in the grief that he described earlier this week as "total darkness." He is ac companied in that anguish by thousands of parents nationwide whose children have died while rid ing on or driving ATVs.
"It's hell," said Sue DeLoretto- Rabe, whose son Kyle was killed in an ATV accident in 2002.
As a result of her grief, DeLoretto-Rabe and two other grieving mothers founded Concerned Families for ATV Safety, a support and advocacy group for parents who have lost children in ATV acci dents.
"I'm so sad for her family be cause I know what they are going through," she said.
But DeLoretto-Rabe's sadness quickly turns to anger when the discussion turns to the number of deaths over the past 20 years. Despite the knowledge of the dangers posed by the machines, children continue to die, she said.
"The ATV industry knows they are killing kids," she said. "They say they are developing safety standards and they say they are doing everything they can, but really they have done nothing to improve the safety of the machines."
In 2005, the last year statistics are available, more than 460 people were killed in accidents while driving or riding on an ATV. Of those, more than 120 were under the age of 16, according to statistics from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
In all, CPSC reports show that more than 2,170 children have died on ATVs since 1982, an average of more than 90 per year. In New Jersey, a total of 54 riders have died over that time period, but the sta tistics are not broken down by age.
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ATV accidents are increasing
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And the numbers are actually much higher, said Jim Helmkamp, director of West Virginia University's Injury Control Research Center.
On behalf of DeLoretto-Rabe's organization, Helmkamp conducted a recent study of ATV deaths, which found that from 2000 to 2004 a yearly average of 171 children under 16 died on ATVs nationwide, up nearly 25 percent from the previous five-year period. Helm kamp used death certificates to conduct his study, making his number more reliable than CPSC, he said.
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Helmkamp said in some places, like West Virginia, ATV deaths have become so common that it is often difficult to get anyone to take notice.
"It has become so common that people barely blink anymore," Helmkamp said. "It becomes hard to generate public interest and lawmaker interest in revising the law when it becomes so second na ture."
But the dangers have not scared the public away.
Statistics from the ATV Safety Institute, an industry trade group sponsored by many of the coun try's largest ATV manufacturers, show 16 million Americans ride ATVs, a huge jump from the mid- 1990s.
Sales of ATVs have increased nationwide during that period, jumping fivefold since 1993, the group reports, with nearly 1 million vehicles sold per year.
According to Mike Mount, a spokesman for the ATV Safety Institute, the vehicles are inherently safe when properly used and supervised.
"According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 90 percent of youth injury incidents occur when (the child) is riding an adult-sized ATV," he said. "It is key that the kids are riding an appropriately sized ATV."
Supervision also is significant, Mount said, and children under 16 should never ride without direct parental guidance.
"I think the biggest safety fea ture is the (ignition) key," he said. "Whoever controls the key controls the use."
In New Jersey, state law makes it mandatory for riders to wear a helmet and restricts purchasing based on age, but there are no restrictions on keeping children off the machines save one that re quires a rider to be at least 14 to ride on public land. The state also requires training when riding for recreation on public land.
DJ Kelly, owner of Hamilton Ya maha on South Broad Street in Hamilton, said he often is amazed at the number of ATV buyers who decline the free training offered by the manufacturer.
"They send you $75 if you do it and they make it as convenient as possible," said Kelly, whose shop sells between 160 and 200 ATVs per year. "But people still sign off that they don't want it."
But DeLoretto-Rabe and others say that training and supervision will never be enough. Until the laws change to prohibit use by children, deaths will continue to mount.
"We need to keep kids off these things," she said. "It angers me. But the industry solution is not to keep kids off. The industry solution is training. But it's not enough. Until they make it standard for kids to be of age with a license be fore you can operate these things, people will keep getting hurt."
Hundreds of riders are killed nationwide each year
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
BY DARRYL R. ISHERWOOD
Emily Marshall was 12 when the all-terrain vehicle she was driving rolled over on her, pinning the young girl beneath its nearly quarter-ton bulk.
The accident that killed the West Amwell girl on Friday has left her father shattered, wondering how to cope with the loss of his child.
Advertisement
But Marshall is not alone in the grief that he described earlier this week as "total darkness." He is ac companied in that anguish by thousands of parents nationwide whose children have died while rid ing on or driving ATVs.
"It's hell," said Sue DeLoretto- Rabe, whose son Kyle was killed in an ATV accident in 2002.
As a result of her grief, DeLoretto-Rabe and two other grieving mothers founded Concerned Families for ATV Safety, a support and advocacy group for parents who have lost children in ATV acci dents.
"I'm so sad for her family be cause I know what they are going through," she said.
But DeLoretto-Rabe's sadness quickly turns to anger when the discussion turns to the number of deaths over the past 20 years. Despite the knowledge of the dangers posed by the machines, children continue to die, she said.
"The ATV industry knows they are killing kids," she said. "They say they are developing safety standards and they say they are doing everything they can, but really they have done nothing to improve the safety of the machines."
In 2005, the last year statistics are available, more than 460 people were killed in accidents while driving or riding on an ATV. Of those, more than 120 were under the age of 16, according to statistics from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
In all, CPSC reports show that more than 2,170 children have died on ATVs since 1982, an average of more than 90 per year. In New Jersey, a total of 54 riders have died over that time period, but the sta tistics are not broken down by age.
More | Subscribe | 14-Day Archives (Free) | Long-Term Archives (Paid)
ATV accidents are increasing
Page 2 of 2
And the numbers are actually much higher, said Jim Helmkamp, director of West Virginia University's Injury Control Research Center.
On behalf of DeLoretto-Rabe's organization, Helmkamp conducted a recent study of ATV deaths, which found that from 2000 to 2004 a yearly average of 171 children under 16 died on ATVs nationwide, up nearly 25 percent from the previous five-year period. Helm kamp used death certificates to conduct his study, making his number more reliable than CPSC, he said.
Advertisement
Helmkamp said in some places, like West Virginia, ATV deaths have become so common that it is often difficult to get anyone to take notice.
"It has become so common that people barely blink anymore," Helmkamp said. "It becomes hard to generate public interest and lawmaker interest in revising the law when it becomes so second na ture."
But the dangers have not scared the public away.
Statistics from the ATV Safety Institute, an industry trade group sponsored by many of the coun try's largest ATV manufacturers, show 16 million Americans ride ATVs, a huge jump from the mid- 1990s.
Sales of ATVs have increased nationwide during that period, jumping fivefold since 1993, the group reports, with nearly 1 million vehicles sold per year.
According to Mike Mount, a spokesman for the ATV Safety Institute, the vehicles are inherently safe when properly used and supervised.
"According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 90 percent of youth injury incidents occur when (the child) is riding an adult-sized ATV," he said. "It is key that the kids are riding an appropriately sized ATV."
Supervision also is significant, Mount said, and children under 16 should never ride without direct parental guidance.
"I think the biggest safety fea ture is the (ignition) key," he said. "Whoever controls the key controls the use."
In New Jersey, state law makes it mandatory for riders to wear a helmet and restricts purchasing based on age, but there are no restrictions on keeping children off the machines save one that re quires a rider to be at least 14 to ride on public land. The state also requires training when riding for recreation on public land.
DJ Kelly, owner of Hamilton Ya maha on South Broad Street in Hamilton, said he often is amazed at the number of ATV buyers who decline the free training offered by the manufacturer.
"They send you $75 if you do it and they make it as convenient as possible," said Kelly, whose shop sells between 160 and 200 ATVs per year. "But people still sign off that they don't want it."
But DeLoretto-Rabe and others say that training and supervision will never be enough. Until the laws change to prohibit use by children, deaths will continue to mount.
"We need to keep kids off these things," she said. "It angers me. But the industry solution is not to keep kids off. The industry solution is training. But it's not enough. Until they make it standard for kids to be of age with a license be fore you can operate these things, people will keep getting hurt."