Twelve people, including three under 18, have been killed through Oct. 1 in 2007 accidents involving all-terrain vehicles, a state Health Department official told a Senate committee Thursday.
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Those killed this year range in age from 14 to 88, said Pam Archer, deputy chief of injury prevention at the state Health Department.
The numbers
•In 2006, 19 people died in the state on ATV accidents, she told the Senate Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, which was examining safety issues involving ATVs.
•Thirty percent of those 2006 deaths were children under 16, she said.
•From January 2002 through June 30, 2007, 1,848 people suffered serious injuries in ATV accidents, Archer said. Total hospital charges for these injuries were nearly $33 million, she said.
•Cities with more than 13 ATV injuries from January 2002 through June 2007 ranged from Tulsa, with less than 20, to Waynoka, with nearly 200, Archer said.
"Waynoka is near Little Sahara State Park” where people ride ATVs, Archer said.
Many who are hurt there are taken either to Kansas or to Oklahoma City, Archer said.
Background
•ATVs began as a mode of transportation for farmers, lumberjacks and others to be used on unpaved terrain, she said.
•They began gaining in popularity in the mid-1980s, she said.
•Last session, the Legislature passed a law requiring children under 18 to wear helmets while riding on ATVs on public land. State and municipal parks will be the most affected.
•The legislation goes into effect Nov. 1.
What's next
During the meeting, Kevin Pipes, chief of staff for the Health Department, said the agency will concentrate in the future on having safety training "for everybody, but for kids especially.”
Health officials don't foresee any more legislation involving helmets, Pipes said.
Good, bad news
Also during the meeting, Sen. Bill Brown, R-Broken Arrow, said that accidents and deaths involving ATVs have gone down since 1980, according to some charts he's examined.
Archer agreed, saying rates "have gone down, but not significantly.”
Archer also presented the committee with information from a study between March 2003 and July 2005 by St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, a trauma center for eastern Oklahoma.
It said 40 percent of the people who were riding ATVs were involved in collisions with a tree, fence, mailbox, another ATV or automobiles.
Children more frequently are involved in collisions than adults, the data show.
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ATV SAFETY is an issue close to my heart. Until the day I die I will continue efforts with a well-known, national ATV SAFETY ADVOCACY group which works to alert the public to the real dangers of kids and ATVs. We are also working toward a federal ban on kids under 16 riding ATVs - however long it takes, we will be there fighting.
August 8, 2005, while visiting family in Houston, my 15 yr old son was severely injured on an ATV. He and his cousin were left unsupervised with a brand new 4-wheeler. (IF there was a law, maybe my in-laws wouldn't have left an ATV out with the keys on it) My son suffered a severe traumatic brain injury, broken collar bone and ribs, punctured lung & lacerated liver. He finally came home after 5 months in the hospital, which included 3 weeks in a coma/life support, being tube fed, FOUR brain surgeries, numerous infections, a stroke, memory loss, 2 months of in-patient rehab relearning how to walk, talk, eat, bathe and dress himself. Today he deals with seizures and permanent blindness. And he is one of the lucky ones. One thing most people don't consider is the economic factor. We had no insurance at the time of my son's accident. Guess who paid his hospital costs? TAXPAYERS! Now that he will live with PERMANENT DISABILITY, guess who will support him for the rest of his life? TAXPAYERS! So, was it worth the ride? I don't think so. But for those who are fighting for the rights of kids under 16 to ride ATVs...just keep going to work - the hospitals need your hard-earned money.
Multiply my son's accident by 40,000 - every year!
My son is not alone. Consider the facts:
In 2005, over 136,000 people were injured on ATVs - 40,400 of those injured were KIDS UNDER 16! Consumer Product Safety Commission, Report (ATV)-Related Deaths and Injuries
I'm aware that ATV enthusiasts are afraid of laws limiting their freedom to ride. If ADULTS want to be STUCK ON STUPID and ride ATVs with no reguard to safety - then so be it - but someone out there needs to look after the welfare of kids. Perhaps having laws in place will make parents aware of the real dangers inherent in kids under 16 riding ATVs. Yes, life is full of risk and we can't bubble wrap our kids, but why put them in harms way so uneccessarily? Why do you think we have a seatbelt law, Mother's Against Drunk Driving, anti-drug campaigns in schools, Meghan's Law, etc? Because enough harm comes to our kids in ways we'd never suspect - and special interest groups attempt to alert the public so hopefully, parents will make wise decisions concerning the kids they love.
Has anyone ever asked themselves why kids must be a certain age, attend driver's ed classes, pass a test and get a license before driving a car - yet they are allowed to get on a powerful machine that weighs 600+ pounds and gets up to highway speeds? Some states don't even have helmet laws. Where's the logic in this? Well, the medical community is wondering the same thing. These doctors and nurses are on the front lines doing damage control, repairing mangled bodies and in some cases, telling parents the last thing they ever want to hear: that they will never again see their kid smile, watch them play ball or hear them laughing or saying "I love you."
Here's what the medical community has to say:
America’s Doctors Believe ATVs Too Dangerous for Children Under 16
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOP) have adopted formal policies recommending that children under age 16 not drive ATVs.
The American Academy of Pediatrics states: “Laws should prohibit the use of ATVs, on- or off-road, by children and adolescents younger than 16 years. An automobile driver’s license, and preferably some additional certification in ATV use, should be required to operate an ATV. The safe use of ATVs requires the same or greater skill, judgment, and experience as needed to operate an automobile.”(AAP, Policy Statement, All-Terrain Vehicle Injury Prevention: Two-, Three-, and Four-Wheeled Unlicensed Motor Vehicles, 2000)
The American Academy of Pediatrics also describes
child ATV use as “the perfect recipe for tragedy.” (AAP press release, July 13, 2005)
The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons explains: “In light of statistics that show an inordinate number of injuries and deaths resulting from the use of ATVs, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons considers ATVs to be a significant public health risk. . . The minimum age of 16 for operating an ATV on or off the road should be enforced. Children under the age of 12 generally possess neither the body size and strength, nor the motor skills and coordination necessary for the safe handling of an ATV. Children under age 16 generally have not yet developed the perceptual abilities or the judgment required for the safe use of highly powered vehicles.”(emphasis in original) (AAOS, Position Statement, All-Terrain Vehicles, 1992).
Consumer Product Safety Commission states:
b]Over the past decade, the number of children killed in off-road vehicle accidents increased by 88%.[/b] (Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2005 and 1995 Annual Report of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)-Related Deaths and Injuries)
(Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2005 Annual Report of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)-Related Deaths and Injuries)
Between 1995 and 2005, ATVs killed at least 1,218 children under age 16. These children account for 27 percent of all ATV-related deaths during this period. (Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2005 Annual Report of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)-Related Deaths and Injuries) [/size]
Serious Injuries
Over the past decade, the number of children hospitalized increased by 109%. (Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2005 Annual Report of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)-Related Deaths and Injuries)
More than 44,000 children were hospitalized due to accidents on ATVs in 2005 compared to 19,300 in 1995. (Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2005 Annual Report of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)-Related Deaths and Injuries)
Children under 16 accounted for 30% of all off-road vehicle injuries in 2005. (Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2005 Annual Report of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)-Related Deaths and Injuries)
Not surprisingly, the injury RISK for children drivers (7.6) is much higher than for drivers over the age of 16 (5.1). (Fiscal Year 2005 CPSC Briefing Package, pg. 13)
The vast majority of children who were injured (63%) were driving at the time of the accident. 37% of those injured were passengers. (Fiscal Year 2005 CPSC Briefing Package, pg. 2)
ATV Injuries More Severe than Other Recreational Activities
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) concludes that nine percent of injuries children receive from ATVs result in hospitalization compared to two percent of injuries caused by the 15,000 other consumer products over which the Commission has jurisdiction. (Fiscal Year 2005 CPSC Briefing Package pg. 70)
With respect to other recreational activities and many common sports, ATV driving has the highest risk of hospitalization of 33 sports and activities in which children routinely participate, including riding a bike, snowboarding, skateboarding, wrestling, basketball and scooter riding. The risk of serious injury associated with driving ATVs is 61 percent greater than the activity with the next highest risk (football). (Fiscal Year 2005 CPSC Briefing Package pg. 158-9)
I'll leave you with a statement left on a blog - from someone who knows the real deal..........
Reality check from the ER
I am in the Army. I worked in an ER at Fort Riley, Kan. Being a rural state so to speak we had lots of ATV accidents. Who is having these accidents? Well, mostly kids. Kids who want to do the tricks they see on their video games. We had one with an amputation, a few with broken bones and one child died. Children do not belong on ATVs, period, and then if they don't have helmets, well, in the hospital we call them organ donors. So, parents, what do you want a kid to grow up and be? Your legacy or a memory?
Is there a reason Pam Archer and the Health Department present statistics for 9 months compared to 12 months?
But then, their stats for the number of injuries spans the last 66 months? (Jan 2002- June 2007)
Maybe that's how far back they had to go to get a number with shock value???
One lump value for 5½ years doesn't show the year to year injuries, or any trends, and it sure doesn't show the effects (positive or negative) of a helmet law that has yet to come into affect.
Furthermore, they compare the number of injuries over the last 66 months from Tulsa (less than 20) to those in Waynoka (nearly 200). Please. How stupid do they think the Riding Community is?
I don't know of anyone who drives clear across the state to ride within the city limits of Tulsa. However, THOUSANDS from all over Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas drive to Waynoka to ride ATVs, dirt bikes, dune buggies, etc almost every weekend of the season. It's the Little Sahara State Park! How in the world does that logically compare to an Urban city???? There's probably more ATV's in Waynoka during a holiday weekend than there are in Tulsa all year!
Once again the Oklahoma State Department of health is manipulating facts and figures to create "scary and shocking" statistics in hopes of causing the general public to come running to their government "mommy" and beg that something be done. Here's a thought:
I see whole families show up at the SEOK lakes and every kid and dog has their own ATV. They all spread out like ants and eventually come back covered in mud, cuts, bruises, and scrapes. Once and a while, they come back without a bike holding a body part very closely. I'm not sure anything will change with any new laws. I think one reason for the drop in accidents from the 80's is the banning of the manufacture of 3 wheelers. It took a while to get them out of the pipeline as people can still legally drive them. Most ATV injuries I have seen or investigated involve J.A. type stunts. People don't realize that a lot of planning and risk management goes into J.A. stunts. Hollywood makes it look impromptu.
Is there a reason Pam Archer and the Health Department present statistics for 9 months compared to 12 months?
But then, their stats for the number of injuries spans the last 66 months? (Jan 2002- June 2007)
Maybe that's how far back they had to go to get a number with shock value???
One lump value for 5½ years doesn't show the year to year injuries, or any trends, and it sure doesn't show the effects (positive or negative) of a helmet law that has yet to come into affect.
Furthermore, they compare the number of injuries over the last 66 months from Tulsa (less than 20) to those in Waynoka (nearly 200). Please. How stupid do they think the Riding Community is?
I don't know of anyone who drives clear across the state to ride within the city limits of Tulsa. However, THOUSANDS from all over Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas drive to Waynoka to ride ATVs, dirt bikes, dune buggies, etc almost every weekend of the season. It's the Little Sahara State Park! How in the world does that logically compare to an Urban city???? There's probably more ATV's in Waynoka during a holiday weekend than there are in Tulsa all year!
Once again the Oklahoma State Department of health is manipulating facts and figures to create "scary and shocking" statistics in hopes of causing the general public to come running to their government "mommy" and beg that something be done. Here's a thought:
The ATVs are a wonderful form of transportation that affords safer travel then a motorcycle or dirt bike. It is the inexperienced driver that generally is injured. Thus, more direction to educate the young before allowing them to ride these devices is necessary, just as in driving a car by taking Driver's Education. It is not the age but the knowledge of the driver in what they are doing, what to expect, how to safely avoid situations that can kill, use proper safety gear, do not ride one unless the person is equiped with both. Kind Regards.
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St. Francis Hospital ATV Injury Study, March 2003-July 2005
Circumstances of the crash
•Nearly all ATV crash patients treated at St. Francis, a trauma center, were riding 4-wheelers.
•34 percent of those injured were riding on a farm.
•25 percent of those injured were riding on a roadway.
•20 percent of those injured were wearing a helmet.
•4 percent of those injured were using alcohol.
Rollovers
•63 percent were involved in ATV rollover. Of that group, 53 percent of the injured in a rollover accident were riding on flat, uneven terrain; 31 percent of those hurt were riding uphill; 15 percent of those injured were riding downhill, and 1 percent rolled over while jumping with the vehicle.
•ATVs landed on 44 percent of patients in rollovers.
•Adults are more likely to be injured in rollover accidents than children.
Types of injuries
•48 percent of those injuries involved head/brain injuries (46 percent of the head/brain injuries involved children under 18).
•47 percent of those injured suffered orthopedic injuries.
•21 percent of the injuries were to the torso.
•9 percent suffered facial fractures
•1 percent of the injuries were spinal injuries.
Helmets
•Head injuries are the leading cause of ATV deaths.
•Helmets reduce deaths by 42 percent.
•Helmets reduce nonfatal head injuries by 64 percent.
Source: St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa
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August 8, 2005, while visiting family in Houston, my 15 yr old son was severely injured on an ATV. He and his cousin were left unsupervised with a brand new 4-wheeler. (IF there was a law, maybe my in-laws wouldn't have left an ATV out with the keys on it) My son suffered a severe traumatic brain injury, broken collar bone and ribs, punctured lung & lacerated liver. He finally came home after 5 months in the hospital, which included 3 weeks in a coma/life support, being tube fed, FOUR brain surgeries, numerous infections, a stroke, memory loss, 2 months of in-patient rehab relearning how to walk, talk, eat, bathe and dress himself. Today he deals with seizures and permanent blindness. And he is one of the lucky ones. One thing most people don't consider is the economic factor. We had no insurance at the time of my son's accident. Guess who paid his hospital costs? TAXPAYERS! Now that he will live with PERMANENT DISABILITY, guess who will support him for the rest of his life? TAXPAYERS! So, was it worth the ride? I don't think so. But for those who are fighting for the rights of kids under 16 to ride ATVs...just keep going to work - the hospitals need your hard-earned money.
Multiply my son's accident by 40,000 - every year!
My son is not alone. Consider the facts:
In 2005, over 136,000 people were injured on ATVs - 40,400 of those injured were KIDS UNDER 16! Consumer Product Safety Commission, Report (ATV)-Related Deaths and Injuries
I'm aware that ATV enthusiasts are afraid of laws limiting their freedom to ride. If ADULTS want to be STUCK ON STUPID and ride ATVs with no reguard to safety - then so be it - but someone out there needs to look after the welfare of kids. Perhaps having laws in place will make parents aware of the real dangers inherent in kids under 16 riding ATVs. Yes, life is full of risk and we can't bubble wrap our kids, but why put them in harms way so uneccessarily? Why do you think we have a seatbelt law, Mother's Against Drunk Driving, anti-drug campaigns in schools, Meghan's Law, etc? Because enough harm comes to our kids in ways we'd never suspect - and special interest groups attempt to alert the public so hopefully, parents will make wise decisions concerning the kids they love.
Has anyone ever asked themselves why kids must be a certain age, attend driver's ed classes, pass a test and get a license before driving a car - yet they are allowed to get on a powerful machine that weighs 600+ pounds and gets up to highway speeds? Some states don't even have helmet laws. Where's the logic in this? Well, the medical community is wondering the same thing. These doctors and nurses are on the front lines doing damage control, repairing mangled bodies and in some cases, telling parents the last thing they ever want to hear: that they will never again see their kid smile, watch them play ball or hear them laughing or saying "I love you."
Here's what the medical community has to say:
America’s Doctors Believe ATVs Too Dangerous for Children Under 16
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOP) have adopted formal policies recommending that children under age 16 not drive ATVs.
The American Academy of Pediatrics states: “Laws should prohibit the use of ATVs, on- or off-road, by children and adolescents younger than 16 years. An automobile driver’s license, and preferably some additional certification in ATV use, should be required to operate an ATV. The safe use of ATVs requires the same or greater skill, judgment, and experience as needed to operate an automobile.”(AAP, Policy Statement, All-Terrain Vehicle Injury Prevention: Two-, Three-, and Four-Wheeled Unlicensed Motor Vehicles, 2000)
The American Academy of Pediatrics also describes
child ATV use as “the perfect recipe for tragedy.” (AAP press release, July 13, 2005)
The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons explains: “In light of statistics that show an inordinate number of injuries and deaths resulting from the use of ATVs, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons considers ATVs to be a significant public health risk. . . The minimum age of 16 for operating an ATV on or off the road should be enforced. Children under the age of 12 generally possess neither the body size and strength, nor the motor skills and coordination necessary for the safe handling of an ATV. Children under age 16 generally have not yet developed the perceptual abilities or the judgment required for the safe use of highly powered vehicles.”(emphasis in original) (AAOS, Position Statement, All-Terrain Vehicles, 1992).
Consumer Product Safety Commission states:
b]Over the past decade, the number of children killed in off-road vehicle accidents increased by 88%.[/b] (Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2005 and 1995 Annual Report of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)-Related Deaths and Injuries)
(Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2005 Annual Report of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)-Related Deaths and Injuries)
Between 1995 and 2005, ATVs killed at least 1,218 children under age 16. These children account for 27 percent of all ATV-related deaths during this period. (Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2005 Annual Report of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)-Related Deaths and Injuries) [/size]
Serious Injuries
Over the past decade, the number of children hospitalized increased by 109%. (Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2005 Annual Report of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)-Related Deaths and Injuries)
More than 44,000 children were hospitalized due to accidents on ATVs in 2005 compared to 19,300 in 1995. (Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2005 Annual Report of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)-Related Deaths and Injuries)
Children under 16 accounted for 30% of all off-road vehicle injuries in 2005. (Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2005 Annual Report of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)-Related Deaths and Injuries)
Not surprisingly, the injury RISK for children drivers (7.6) is much higher than for drivers over the age of 16 (5.1). (Fiscal Year 2005 CPSC Briefing Package, pg. 13)
The vast majority of children who were injured (63%) were driving at the time of the accident. 37% of those injured were passengers. (Fiscal Year 2005 CPSC Briefing Package, pg. 2)
ATV Injuries More Severe than Other Recreational Activities
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) concludes that nine percent of injuries children receive from ATVs result in hospitalization compared to two percent of injuries caused by the 15,000 other consumer products over which the Commission has jurisdiction. (Fiscal Year 2005 CPSC Briefing Package pg. 70)
With respect to other recreational activities and many common sports, ATV driving has the highest risk of hospitalization of 33 sports and activities in which children routinely participate, including riding a bike, snowboarding, skateboarding, wrestling, basketball and scooter riding. The risk of serious injury associated with driving ATVs is 61 percent greater than the activity with the next highest risk (football). (Fiscal Year 2005 CPSC Briefing Package pg. 158-9)
I'll leave you with a statement left on a blog - from someone who knows the real deal..........
Reality check from the ER
I am in the Army. I worked in an ER at Fort Riley, Kan. Being a rural state so to speak we had lots of ATV accidents. Who is having these accidents? Well, mostly kids. Kids who want to do the tricks they see on their video games. We had one with an amputation, a few with broken bones and one child died. Children do not belong on ATVs, period, and then if they don't have helmets, well, in the hospital we call them organ donors. So, parents, what do you want a kid to grow up and be? Your legacy or a memory?
But then, their stats for the number of injuries spans the last 66 months? (Jan 2002- June 2007)
Maybe that's how far back they had to go to get a number with shock value???
One lump value for 5½ years doesn't show the year to year injuries, or any trends, and it sure doesn't show the effects (positive or negative) of a helmet law that has yet to come into affect.
Furthermore, they compare the number of injuries over the last 66 months from Tulsa (less than 20) to those in Waynoka (nearly 200). Please. How stupid do they think the Riding Community is?
I don't know of anyone who drives clear across the state to ride within the city limits of Tulsa. However, THOUSANDS from all over Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas drive to Waynoka to ride ATVs, dirt bikes, dune buggies, etc almost every weekend of the season. It's the Little Sahara State Park! How in the world does that logically compare to an Urban city???? There's probably more ATV's in Waynoka during a holiday weekend than there are in Tulsa all year!
Once again the Oklahoma State Department of health is manipulating facts and figures to create "scary and shocking" statistics in hopes of causing the general public to come running to their government "mommy" and beg that something be done. Here's a thought:
Let those who ride be the ones who decide!
But then, their stats for the number of injuries spans the last 66 months? (Jan 2002- June 2007)
Maybe that's how far back they had to go to get a number with shock value???
One lump value for 5½ years doesn't show the year to year injuries, or any trends, and it sure doesn't show the effects (positive or negative) of a helmet law that has yet to come into affect.
Furthermore, they compare the number of injuries over the last 66 months from Tulsa (less than 20) to those in Waynoka (nearly 200). Please. How stupid do they think the Riding Community is?
I don't know of anyone who drives clear across the state to ride within the city limits of Tulsa. However, THOUSANDS from all over Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas drive to Waynoka to ride ATVs, dirt bikes, dune buggies, etc almost every weekend of the season. It's the Little Sahara State Park! How in the world does that logically compare to an Urban city???? There's probably more ATV's in Waynoka during a holiday weekend than there are in Tulsa all year!
Once again the Oklahoma State Department of health is manipulating facts and figures to create "scary and shocking" statistics in hopes of causing the general public to come running to their government "mommy" and beg that something be done. Here's a thought:
Let those who ride be the ones who decide!