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A new study reveals that the use of many types of non-automobile motorized vehicles by children in the U.S. has resulted in markedly higher numbers of injuries. Although the dangers of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are well known, the use of the following by children resulted in more than 1.2 million hospital emergency room visits from 1990 to 2003:
Eighty-Six Percent Increase in Injuries
Accidents among children using off-road and other motorized vehicles have jumped 86% — the 1990 figure was 70,500, and the 2003 injuries numbered 130,900. Nearly half of the injuries followed ATV use, but the other 52% of the injuries were due to other vehicle use.
The new study, published in the July issue of Pediatrics, revealed that nearly one-quarter of all injuries among children under 12 years old were incurred on these types of motorized vehicles, a finding that startled even child safety experts.
A "Reality Check"
Dr. Mary Aitken, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, said of the findings, "Hopefully, this study will result in a reality check for parents, for the pediatricians and other physicians who counsel them, and for policy makers…There is nothing 'recreational' about a trip to the emergency department or an admission to the hospital."
Aitken also said, "There are enormous risks for children on motorized vehicles of all sorts in the United States, and these injuries are dramatically increasing."
A lead author of the study was Christy L. Collins, of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Columbus Children's Research Institute at Children's Hospital in Ohio. She noted that "Children don't have the judgment and motor skills to drive or ride on ATVs, and they don't have the judgment to drive or ride on other types of non-automobile motorized vehicles like go-carts and dune buggies and dirt bikes."
At Least Require a Helmet
Collins and her colleagues recommended that kids under the age of 16 not use two-, three-, or four-wheeled motorized vehicles at all. They stressed that if children do drive these vehicles, they should be wearing a helmet that has adequate face protection. They also warned, "Parents should also be aware of the risk of injury to children who are bystanders, not just drivers or passengers."
The study found that although 90% of the children injured by use of the vehicles were treated in ERs and released, about 1,900 children died of their injuries.
(Sources: forbes.com; cbsnews.com)
Was your child injured using an off-road or non-automobile motorized vehicle? Consult an experienced attorney to discuss your legal rights.