ATV Helmets for Kids Vital

New legislation will require children who ride all terrain vehicles to wear helmets has passed the Oklahoma House.

Legislation to require children under 18 years old to wear helmets while riding all-terrain vehicles on public lands and trails received strong bipartisan support in the Oklahoma House.

Lawmakers say will prevent deaths and injuries to children involved in ATV mishaps in state and municipal parks.

Eighteen people died on A-T-Vs last year, including six under the age of 18.

ATV deaths in the state have steadily risen since 2000, when nine deaths were reported.

In a report released by the Oklahoma State Department of Health Trauma Registry, 14 Oklahoma cities were identified as having the greatest number of All Terrain Vehicle injuries in Oklahoma from January 2002 to June 2006.

Of the 1,580 cases identified as ATV-related injuries on the Trauma Registry and Emergency Medical Services databases, Waynoka was recognized as the city with the most ATV-related injuries at 144.

Waynoka is the site of the Little Sahara State Park used by many ATV riders.

Other cities reporting a high number of ATV-related injuries were: Ponca City (17), Stigler (16), McAlester (15), Oklahoma City (15), Altus (13), and Ada, Atoka and Stillwell with 12 each.

Cities that tied with 11 cases each were Elk City, Holdenville, Lawton, Lindsay, and Norman.

Of the 1,580 cases reviewed, more than 41 percent of injuries were to persons younger than 18 years old.

Thirty-three deaths were reported to the State Trauma Registry during this time and of these, 17, or 52 percent, were under 18 years of age.

It is very likely that this underestimates the number of deaths because deaths that occur at the scene and patients transferred out of the state are not captured by this database.

Oklahoma is one of only a handful of states that has no safety requirements for ATV riders, other than they are not allowed on paved roads.

About 28 states have some type of law requiring safety courses, helmets and/or a provision that limits the size of ATVs young riders can use.

ATVs are not toys and can travel at highway speeds and weigh up to 600 pounds.

Many studies have shown that ATVs roll over frequently and often children are riding ATVs that are too large for their recommended age group.

The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates helmet use by ATV riders would reduce the risk of death by 42 percent and the risk of nonfatal head injury by 64 percent.

The OSDH study revealed that the body regions most frequently injured were the torso (21.2 percent), upper extremities including head, face and neck (36.4 percent), and traumatic brain injury (15.8 percent).

The most common types of injuries were fractures, internal organs, superficial/contusions, and open wounds.

Source: http://www.ksbitv.com/home/6511522.html

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