ATV accidents, complaints on the rise

Sarah AuBuchaon

In the blink of an eye a family outing on an ATV tragically changed former Arnold resident Meaghan Bauer's life forever.

Bauer was just 9 years old when her father's four-wheeler flipped over with the two of them, almost instantly killing her dad in February 1998.

"I was driving the four-wheeler and we went up a hill," she said. "My dad told me to go back up the hill again and we flipped backward. It threw both of us off."Bauer said her dad, who had landed just behind her, leaned over, kissed her on the cheek and asked if she was OK. Then he fell away and his nose started bleeding.

"I ran to get an ambulance, and he died," she said. "It's something I just have to live with."

Neither Bauer, now 19, nor her father were wearing helmets at the time of the accident, she said.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), not wearing a helmet is one of the top causes for injury or death in ATV accidents. Other causes include putting two or more people on an ATV, riding on pavement and letting children drive adult models.

According to a report from the CPSC, from 2003 to 2006 there were 146,600 ATV-related injuries nationwide, with children younger than 16 making up 27 percent of that number.

Missouri ranked ninth in the nation for ATV-related deaths in 2006 with 94.

Dr. Robert Beckman, an emergency room physician at St. Anthony's Medical Center, said flip-overs are one of the more common causes for serious injury or death on ATVs.

"You have two opportunities for injury, the fall and then the ATV itself falling on you," he said. "People think ATVs are safe because they have four wheels, but they have a high center of gravity and flip over easily. If you're going up a hill and they flip, you can fall 10 to 15 feet down a hill and then the thing lands on you. It's like having a horse fall on top of you."

Beckman said as soon as the weather starts to get warm he sees an increase in ATV riders in the emergency room with head injuries and broken bones. Last year, St. Anthony's reported 70 ATV-related visits to the emergency room.

"The number of injuries is higher than motorcycles because people don't wear helmets," he said. "I see a lot of intoxicated riders as well. And it always astounds me to see people out there riding with their 3-year-old."

As soon as school lets out, complaints of children riding ATVs on subdivision streets start to rise, said Capt. Ralph Brown of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

"It's a vicious cycle," Brown said. "A call comes in, we go out there and talk to the kids and things die down. Then it starts all over again."

Brown said there are no public places to ride in Jefferson County.

"Most people just go to St. Joe State Park," he said.

St. Joe is less than an hour's drive from Festus down Route 67 off Route 32 in Park Hills. For $3 a day per ATV or dirt bike, riders can enjoy 2,000 acres set aside specifically for off-road vehicle use. There are challenging trails, as well as wide open flat land located near lakes with beaches complete with swimming areas. There is even a bike wash and platforms to unload the ATVs.

Source: http://jeffcountyjournal.stltoday.com/articles/2008/06/11/news/sj2tn20080610-0611ndj-atv0.ii1.txt

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