Recreational off-highway vehicle crashes resulting in victims being treated at a regional trauma center: mechanisms and contributing factors

Abstract

Background: Recreational off-highway vehicles (ROVs) have become increasingly popular in recent years; however, crash epidemiology is not well described. ROVs travel at least 30 mph, and unlike all-terrain vehicles, have a rollover protective structure (ROPS) and seat belts or a harness system for occupants. This study's objective was to evaluate the demographics, mechanisms, injuries, and associated risk factors of ROV crashes. Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed for patients of all ages with ROV-related injuries presenting to a Level 1 trauma center from 2004 to 2017. Cases were identified by ICD-9/10 codes and narrative searches. Person-and crash-related variables were examined in relation to injury outcomes including body area injured, injury severity score, and disposition (e.g. hospitalization, intensive care unit admission). Descriptive, bivariate (chi-square, Fishers exact test), and linear regression analyses were performed.

The Dark Side of Nighttime All-Terrain Vehicle Use

“…Previous research on ROVs also found adults to have a higher percentage of crashes at night as compared to youth. Speci cally, ~40% of adult ROV crash victims were injured at night as compared to 0% of youth victims treated at the University of Iowa and 17% of youth in press clippings of ROV crashes in nine Great Plains states, p=0.004 [11,20]. Our observed proportion of youth injured at night was also similar to the 16% of pediatric nighttime victims seen in a previous multi-institutional study [12].…”

Recreational off-highway vehicle exposure, safety behaviors and crash experiences among adolescents

“…Adolescents appear to be a particularly vulnerable population with regards to ROVs. As stated earlier, youth are a significant proportion of ROV crash victims accounting for nearly a half of those injured in some reports (Jennissen et al 2021 , 2020 ). Previous studies have shown that injuries from ROV crashes can be quite severe.…”

“…Previous studies have shown that injuries from ROV crashes can be quite severe. A study at the University of Iowa found nearly three-quarters of injured ROV riders were hospitalized, and one-quarter required care in the intensive care unit (ICU) with over one-half (53%) of these being children (Jennissen et al 2020 ). Similarly, a pediatric trauma center admitted nearly 80% of their ROV-injured patients with 27% needing ICU care (Linnaus et al 2017 ).…”

“…Most youth injured in ROVs are passengers. However, a University of Iowa study found 30% of children < 16 years injured in ROV crashes were drivers of the vehicle (Jennissen et al 2020 ). Youth were also drivers in over one-fifth of the crashes involving injuries collected by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and comprised 14% of ROV drivers killed on public roads in a national database study (U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission 2016 ; Richardson et al 2018 ).…”

The dark side of nighttime all-terrain vehicle use

“…Previous research on ROVs also found adults to have a higher percentage of crashes at night as compared to youth. Specifically, ~ 40% of adult ROV crash victims were injured at night as compared to 0% of youth victims treated at the University of Iowa and 17% of youth in press clippings of ROV crashes in nine Great Plains states, p = 0.004 (Jennissen et al 2016a ; Jennissen et al 2016c ). Our observed proportion of youth injured at night was also similar to the 16% of pediatric nighttime victims seen in a previous multi-institutional study (Mazotas et al 2014 ).…”