As
the weather continues to warm and families are spending more time
outdoors, Hasbro Children’s Hospital has experienced an unsettling
increase in the number of children coming in to the hospital with severe
injuries sustained from all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). Unfortunately,
these types of injuries are not new. In the past five years, 29 children
between seven and 16 years old were admitted to Hasbro Children’s
Hospital following ATV accidents. Three of those admissions have
occurred within the past few weeks.
ATVs are powerful, motorized vehicles that can weigh several hundred pounds and reach speeds of more than 60 mph. Even experienced drivers can lose control of ATVs, or suffer accidental collisions or rollovers. Children are at a higher risk of accidental injury because they are frequently passengers on these vehicles, which are meant for single riders.
Physicians at Hasbro Children’s Hospital are now hoping to educate families that ATVs are much more dangerous than they may seem, and that when injuries do occur, they can be very serious.
“Families need to understand that significant injuries can occur as a result of an ATV accident,” said Jonathan Schiller, M.D., a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Hasbro Children’s Hospital. “In the past month alone, three children have required hospital admission due to injuries sustained while riding an ATV. Their injuries included severe bleeding in the brain, and spine and long bone fractures. All required surgery and in one instance, multiple trips to the operating room and continuing care in a rehabilitation facility.”
Dina Morrissey, M.D., program coordinator at the Injury Prevention Center at Hasbro Children’s Hospital added, “The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that no one under 16 years old ride ATVs or other motorized vehicles; and manufacturers warn that full-sized ATVs are not toys, and are not designed to be operated by those younger than 16. But, yet, about one quarter of the fatalities seen nationally as a result of ATV injuries are children who are 16 or younger.”
The Injury Prevention Center at Hasbro Children’s Hospital urges parents to never allow children to drive or ride on ATVs, but offers the following tips for all ATV riders:
- Attend an ATV driver’s safety course.
- Never use a 3-wheeler. They are unsafe and are no longer manufactured.
- Ride an age-appropriate ATV.
- Provide constant supervision if a child is operating an ATV.
- Never carry passengers. ATVs are designed for one person.
- Do not use ATVs on the streets or at night.
- Always wear an approved helmet with eye protection.
- Wear non-skid, closed-toe shoes.
- Wear long pants and a long-sleeve shirt.
- Never operate an ATV under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
