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Recent ATV Injury and Death Data from U.S. CPSC Doesn’t Tell the Full Story

Statement of Concerned Families for ATV Safety

The recently released ATV death and injury data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) does not appear to be telling the full story when it comes to the impact of ATV death and injuries. While we read the recent release of the ATV Death and Injuries reported by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, we were alarmed because one would think that ATV deaths and Injuries have significantly decreased for children under 16 years of age. However, what has failed to be highlighted is the fact that they the CPSC has just started compiling this data differently. Some of the incidents that used to be included in this report have been moved to another report. Recreational off highway vehicles, such as the Yamaha Rhino, which have been the cause of many deaths this past year, are now in its own category, not in its usual category with ATV’s as it has been in prior years. While it looks very promising that ATV deaths are on the decline, it is truly a much smaller decline then is actually the case. This is important because we have a lot of work to do to prevent Deaths and injuries caused by ATVS and while the data does indicate a small decline, it doesn’t mean we can stop working to protect children from the hazards posed by ATVs.

ATV’s are still killing and injuring thousands of people each year and a good part of them are children under the age of 16. We at Concerned Families for ATV Safety try to keep track of deaths that occur to children under 16. Our calculations were higher than those from CPSC’s data even when we subtracted the known deaths from ROHVs or UTVs, (the machines that are no longer listed in this report). Unfortunately, we don’t believe that the actual decrease of deaths to children under the age of 16 is in any way statistically significant.

CPSC is responsible for overseeing these products that are killing and injuring more people than any other product they oversee. We are hopeful that with new laws, more extensive public education and a new administration that we can change these numbers to where they really count. There are still too many children that are becoming victims to these machines that they should never be on in the first place.

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Concerned Families for ATV Safety is dedicated to reducing injuries and deaths among children driving/riding powerful All Terrain Vehicles.

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