Kids And ATVs: Injuries On The Rise

Children Suffer Amputated Feet And Broken Necks In Accidents Involving All-Terrain Vehicles

(WebMD)  All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are driving kids straight to the emergency room.

ATV-related deaths and ER visits by children under age 16 more than doubled from 1995 to 2005, and a new study shows that the kids are suffering a variety of "horrifying" injuries, from amputated feet to broken necks.

"There's no such thing as a safe ATV for kids," says researcher Chetan C. Shah, MD, a radiology fellow at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock.

"Children shouldn't be on an ATV as either a driver or a passenger," he tells WebMD.

Shah presented his findings at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

ATV Injuries and Children
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 40,400 children under age 16 were treated for ATV-related injuries in emergency rooms in 2005, more than twice the figure in 1995. A total of 120 of the kids died from their injuries, nearly double the number in 1995.

About 14 percent of ATV riders are children, but they account for 37 percent of all ATV-related injuries and 38 percent of all ATV-related deaths, Shah says.

"We were seeing so many injuries that were horrifying -- kids coming in with partial amputated limbs, severe head injuries, deaths -- that we wanted to document the extent of the problem," he says.

The study involved 500 children admitted to Arkansas Children's Hospital following ATV accidents between 1995 and 2005. The average age of the kids, 155 of whom were girls, was 11 1/2 years.

Broken Legs Most Common
Six of the kids died, five due to brain injuries, Shah says, adding that the fatalities represent only children who died at the hospital, not any who died at the accident site.

Another 16 children suffered nonfatal brain injuries and 85 sustained skull fractures; 38 kids had brain bleeds (hemorrhage).

"Eyes had to be surgically removed in two kids," he says.

Also, 21 suffered spinal fractures and five had spinal cord injuries.

Thirty-six children suffered lung injuries and 68 sustained injuries to the spleen, liver, kidneys, or pancreas.

A total of 208 children fractured an extremity, most often a broken leg. "There were 12 traumatic amputations, with some children losing their feet," Shah says.

He says that the amputations most frequently occurred after a child's foot got caught in the motorized chain that's on one side of the ATV. "It's like putting your foot in a chain saw," he says.

Shah says the youngest victim was a 6-month-old infant who was riding with his mother. His thigh bone fractured, leaving him with a permanent limp, he says.

The youngest drivers were two 2-year-olds who managed to start the ATVs without their parent's knowledge, Shah says. "One had traumatic amputation of four toes and the other was found unconscious beside a flipped ATV. She had a severe brain hemorrhage that left her with permanent disability," he
says.

Small Size Places Kids in Danger
According to Shah, ATV riding by children is intrinsically dangerous because of their small size.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under the age of 16 be prohibited from operating ATVs. "I don't think any state is talking about restricting ATV use by children," Shah notes.

Shah says that when parents ask him if using a helmet might reduce the risks, he replies that's like asking if your kid should be smoking low nicotine or high-nicotine cigarettes. "They should not be smoking at all," he says.

RSNA spokeswoman Katarzyna Macura, MD, PhD, of Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, tells WebMD that she thinks most parents aren't aware of the danger they are putting their kids in when they let them ride on ATVs.

"This is striking data that shows that although ATVs are often labeled safe, they cause a variety of traumatic injuries," she says.

Shah adds, "Even if 10 percent of parents stop putting their kids on ATVs [after hearing this data], we'd achieve a lot today."

[jsutherland8]

Let''s not focus on the parents at all, why hold them accountable. Let''s just blame a machine which has no choice of who operates it, obviously it''s the machines fault and it picked the child to ride it. The parents obviously had NO choice but to not supervise their child, make them wear protective gear or give them a vehicle of the correct size to ride.

Oh no, let''s just continue to blame a machine. Great idea, I love it. Humans are too stupid to be held accountable, right?

[jsutherland8]

Let''s not focus on the parents at all, why hold them accountable. Let''s just blame a machine which has no choice of who operates it, obviously it''s the machines fault and it picked the child to ride it. The parents obviously had NO choice but to not supervise their child, make them wear protective gear or give them a vehicle of the correct size to ride.

Oh no, let''s just continue to blame a machine. Great idea, I love it. Humans are too stupid to be held accountable, right?

[bermbanger]

First off, yes its tragic that these kids and their families are suffering injuries and fatalities. But,

the number of OHV riders has increased to 12 million. These kids represent .3 PERCENT of the whole. Most likely these children were wearing little or no equipment. They make neck braces, they make helmets, they make boots that could withstand a nuke. Don''t punish the entire sport, just because of a risk of danger. So many Americans(yes im a US citizen) have turned into such liability freaks, that one little risk is too overwhelming and unacceptable. I think this kinda *** is getting out of control. What ever happened to going out on a limb and going for it? I wouldn''t be suprised if they turn this into a BS law nation wide law governing kids under 16 (i know 15 year olds that are over 200lbs) to ATVs with probably less power than my lawnmower. I''m an offroad motorcycle rider myself of 7 years and I understand there is a risk, ive crashed hard, but you cant live in a box your whole life.
If you simply wear protective gear, your injury and death rates go down significantly. As an offroad motorcycle rider myself, I understand that this sport is dangerous, but if you just wear your gear it''s practical. I''ve fallen off my bike at 60 mph in the dirt wearing motorcycle specific protection, and all I got was bruises. Unfortunately the vast majority of these kids weren''t wearing any type of protection, and the results clearly show that.

[mswolfestock]

Children under 16 are prohibited from (legally)driving cars and motorcycles, and I don''t see why driving an ATV is any different. I don''t think this problem will be solved until they start arresting the parents for neglect and/or child endangerment for allowing their kids to use ATVs. What''s worse is they usually don''t have any kind of insurance on the ATVs (or the kids) and they end up with life-long debt, medical bills, and a disabled kid who will likely become a burden to all of us. Society at large will have to pay to support these injured kids on disability. What a waste.

[gunownerdan]

Parents need to be responsible for their own kids but too many don''t care.
Today, rather than having the TV raise their kids, more and more irresponsible parents are allowing the ATV''s to raise their kids.
That''s when bad things are going to happen.

[tawabill]

With over 40,000 injuries in a single year, maybe the price is too high for this kind of "fun." And "no pain, no gain" was never meant to apply to permanent disabilities.

We require a person to take driver''s education or reach a certain age to operate a motor vehicle and many states are even adding new restrictions on new drivers to reduce accidents. While I don''t agree with an outright ban, there''s no good reason not to consider some reasonable age and training requirements for ATV riders.

[rushman71]

Guess what? That is the price to have fun. No pain, no gain!!! Watch, now towns are going to start banning these kind of activities, which is a crock of shiiit!!!