More fatal all-terrain vehicle crashes occur on the roadway than off: increased risk-taking characterises roadway fatalities

Abstract

BackgroundAll-terrain vehicles (ATVs) have steadily increased in popularity, size and speed, characteristics that likely contribute to the alarming rise in ATV-related fatalities. One potentially high-risk activity is riding on the road.ObjectivesTo compare fatal ATV crashes that occur on the roadway and off, to more fully understand factors that contribute to fatalities at each location.MethodsFatality data from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) were used for descriptive and comparative analyses. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to determine relative risk.ResultsOver 60% of all fatalities (1985–2009) resulted from roadway crashes. After 1998, roadway fatalities increased at over twice the rate of off-road fatalities. Roadway crashes were more likely than off-road crashes to involve multiple fatalities, carrying passengers, alcohol use, collisions and head injuries. Roadway victims were less likely to be helmeted than off-road victims. Passengers and operators with passengers were also less likely to be helmeted than operators riding alone. Helmeted victims were half as likely to suffer a head injury.ConclusionsFatal roadway crashes were more likely than off-road crashes to involve risk-taking behaviours (eg, carrying passengers) that could exacerbate the inherent difficulty of operating ATVs on roadway surfaces. Higher crash forces from greater speed, and lower use of protective equipment, may also have contributed to higher roadway mortality rates. Eliminating non-essential ATV road use may be an effective way to reduce ATV-related fatalities. This will likely require a substantial investment in rider education and better enforcement of ATV road use restriction laws.

The Effect of Passengers on All-Terrain Vehicle Crash Mechanisms and Injuries

“…We hypothesized that this proportion did not fully reveal the problem of passengers on ATVs, as it failed to take into account injured operators who may have been at increased risk of a crash due to the presence of additional riders. Consistent with this hypothesis, we found that from 1985-2009, 29% of all U.S. ATV-related fatalities were operators with passengers or passengers themselves [8].…”

“…In previous studies, passengers represented approximately 15% of crash victims [8,9,18,19], and 9% of all U.S. ATV-related hospitalizations [20]. We hypothesized that this proportion did not fully reveal the problem of passengers on ATVs, as it failed to take into account injured operators who may have been at increased risk of a crash due to the presence of additional riders.…”

“…In addition, non-fatal ATV-related injuries far surpass death totals; for example, over 400,000 injuries are estimated to have occurred in the U.S. in 2008 [2]. A number of risk factors for ATV-related injury have been identified including younger age, being male, driving on roads, lack of helmet use, operating under the influence of drugs or alcohol, age-inappropriate vehicle size, and carrying passengers [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11].…”

“…Similarly, although studies show that the presence of passengers represents an independent risk factor for ATV-related deaths [8], detailed analysis of the effect of passengers on crashes and associated injuries has not been reported. The objective of this study was to compare and contrast the mechanisms and injury outcomes among trauma patients in ATV crashes with and without passengers.…”

Patterns of child death in England and Wales

“…Small numbers of child fatalities have been reported in contexts other than on public highways, including low-speed vehicle run-over fatalities in young children 43 and all-terrain vehicles driven by young people. 44 While much progress has been made in reducing transport fatalities, this remains one of the areas most amenable to further prevention through legislation, environmental modification, engineering, education and training. 45,46 …”