Our two-year old neighbor was just killed in an ATV accident. He was thrown off the machine when it struck a tree. His eight-year-old sister was driving a children’s ATV. This is a tragic and senseless death. Can’t anything be done to keep kids off these things?

Enough studies have been done now to verify how dangerous these machines are with children on them. Even so, many states do not have even a minimum age or training requirements for operating these devices.

Even when states have a mandatory helmet law, less than 10 per cent of injured children wear them. Head injuries are the number one cause of death for children riding on all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). Helmets have been proven to reduce the risk and decrease the severity of all head, neck, and face injuries.

Increasing public awareness of the dangers of ATV, improving safety measures, and improved ATV design are key factors in preventing and minimizing these kinds of accidents. Adults must be informed that manufacturers marketing the so-called Children’s ATV cannot guarantee the safety of these machines. Smaller, less powerful units in the hands of a young rider can lead to fatalities such as you are reporting.