Data Shows ATV Deaths and Injuries on Decline

According to a report from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), all-terrain vehicle injuries have declined significantly from 2007 through 2013.

The CPSC 2013 Annual Report of ATV Deaths and Injuries reports: “When considering the entire seven years together (2007−2013), CPSC staff found a statistically significant decreasing linear trend [for ATV-related injuries].”

The report also found that estimated ATV-related fatalities have declined each year from 2007 through 2013, but noted that data collection for 2010-2013 is ongoing.

In this latest report, CPSC has again confirmed (as it did in its 2011 and 2012 Annual Reports) that the decline in injuries “reflect a change in the trend direction for ATV-related injury estimates” and that for the years 2007 through 2013 “the number of injuries per year has gone through a statistically significant decline.” The report also found injuries involving children younger than 16 has declined 37.5 percent from 2007 to 2013.

In its previous annual reports, CPSC had reported an 11-year consecutive decline in the risk of injury. Those studies were not continued this year. The 2012 CPSC report shows the risk of injury per 10,000 four-wheel ATVs in use had declined by more than 50 percent between 2007 and 2012, which was lower than at any time since CPSC began calculating injury risk in 1985.

“Member companies of the ATV Safety Institute are committed to continuing to work to further reduce ATV-related fatalities and injuries through rider education programs, raising awareness regarding the importance of parental supervision, and continuing to advocate for ATV safety state legislation,” says ASI President and Chief Executive Officer Tim Buche. “Since 1984, the major manufacturers and distributors of ATVs in the United States have worked closely with the CPSC to implement ongoing safety initiatives. We appreciate the CPSC’s cooperation in these safety efforts, including the agency’s creation of the www.atvsafety.gov website that helps increase awareness about ATV safety.”

According to the ATV Safety Institute, more than 92 percent of ATV-related fatalities involve one or more behaviors that the industry strongly and visibly warns against in its rider education programs, in all its literature, and on the vehicles themselves. The ASI urges all ATV enthusiasts and their families to follow the ATV Safety Institute’s Golden Rules:

1. Always wear a DOT-compliant helmet, goggles, long sleeves, long pants, over-the-ankle boots, and gloves. 2. Never ride on paved roads except to cross when done safely and permitted by law — another vehicle could hit you. ATVs are designed to be operated off-highway. 3. Never ride under the influence of alcohol or drugs. 4. Never carry a passenger on a single-rider ATV, and no more than one passenger on an ATV specifically designed for two people. 5. Ride an ATV that’s right for your age. 6. Supervise riders younger than 16; ATVs are not toys. 7. Ride only on designated trails and at a safe speed. 8. Take a hands-on ATV RiderCourseSM; and the free online E-Course. Visit atvsafety.org or call 800.887.2887.