Pay heed to risks of all-terrain vehicles

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Toward the end of a Journal Star story on workplace safety last week, an expert pointed out that all-terrain vehicles are involved in a significant number of farming-related fatalities in Nebraska.

Six people were killed last year, and the previous year, in rural accidents involving the popular off-road vehicles.

Similar references to ATVs show up in other stories involving accident statistics. Officials pointed out last year that motor vehicle crashes are the third leading cause of death for children in Nebraska. One out of every eight of the children killed in vehicle crashes in 2005 was involved in an ATV accident.

The risk of death and injury while operating an ATV deserves to be emblazoned on the public consciousness.

The safety of the vehicles receives only minimal government oversight.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is so dysfunctional — critics attribute its performance to the Bush administration’s antipathy to regulation — that it has been unable to enforce recall of the Chinese-made Kazuma Meerkat 50 Youth All-Terrain Vehicle.

The ATV, supposedly designed for use by children ages 6 to 11, can be started while in gear, lacks front brakes and has no parking brake. While lack of a chairman has prevented a mandatory recall, the commission did issue a warning that “children are at risk of injury or death due to multiple safety defects with this off-road vehicle.”

Few rules regulate use of the estimated 7.6 million ATVs in use in the United States. Children can legally operate them in many states, including Nebraska.

The balloon-tired vehicles apparently inspire overconfidence in their stability and safety. But the machines flip over with deadly frequency.

Nearly 8,000 people have been killed and 2 million seriously hurt on ATVs.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons have called for laws to prohibit the use of ATVs by children younger than 16.

“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,” the surgeons’ group said. “Children under the age of 16 generally have not yet developed the perceptual abilities or the judgment required for the safe use of highly powered vehicles.”

In today’s politically correct world, some consumers may be suffering from a false sense of security on the belief that government officials in the so-called “nanny state” are looking out for their safety.

That’s certainly not true when it comes to ATVs.

Safe operation depends almost entirely on the good judgment of owners and operators. Be advised, and spread the word.