Page 16 - Delaware Medical Journal - March 2017

FIGURE 1
Courtesy of KIDS COUNT in Delaware
related deaths reported nationally between 1982 and 2014. Among these fatalities, 23 percent occurred among children under age 16. For the years 2007 to 2014, children under age 16 comprised between 25 and 28 percent of the annual estimated emergency department-treated injuries from ATVs.3 Hospitalization
rates among children under age 16 who sustained ATV-related injuries were two times higher than those of children under age 16 who sustained motor vehicle crash injuries.4 A retrospective study using data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Kids’ Inpatient Database (KID) from 1997 and 2000 showed total hospital charges for both years of more than $74 million, with approximately 20 percent of this paid for by public insurance.5
Risk Factors
Risk factors for ATV-related injuries
and fatalities include male gender, age under 16, size of ATV, inexperience, on-road use, not wearing a helmet, carrying passengers, and use of alcohol or drugs.6-10 A retrospective study of North Carolina trauma registry and medical examiner’s data underscores the risk of injury to ATV passengers; pediatric ATV die or need inpatient rehabilitation, and nearly 14 times more likely to sustain severe head and neck injuries than ATV drivers.11 An analysis of Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) fatality data showed that 96 percent of children ages 12-15 who died were riding adult-sized ATVs.12
Helmet Use Trends
Numerous studies have shown and continue to show low rates of helmet use among young ATV riders. An analysis of 2011 YouthStyles survey data showed that less than half of respondents (45 percent) always wore a helmet and 25 percent never wore a helmet.13
ATV Safety Regulations
ATVs do not fall within federal highway safety regulations, and instead are regulated at the state level, which has regulations across states. At the federal level, the CPSC has the responsibility
to protect the general public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of
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Del Med J | March 2017 | Vol. 89 | No. 3