293 The Dangers of Off-Road Vehicles to Youths: Not Something to Kid Around About

Abstract

Children are not allowed to operate motor vehicles such as cars until they are 16 years old due to the risks associated with the operation of such powerful machines. Yet, the operation of off-road vehicles (ORVs) by youths under 16 years old has been largely normalized in both rural and urban communities, despite the significant safety risks involved. To better understand this issue, the goal of this study was to characterize roadway ORV crashes with youth operators, including riding behaviors and crash outcomes, in a Midwest state. This study examined ORV roadway crashes involving operators <16 years of age (115 crashes) that were documented in Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) records from 2002-2017. Descriptive and comparative analyses was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). In Iowa’s pediatric roadway crashes from 2002-2017, 63% of victims were male and 81% were 12-15 years old. Females were more commonly passengers than were males (60% vs. 24%), as were younger (<12 years) as compared to older riders (56% vs. 26%). Only a small percentage of victims were helmeted, 24% of operators and 14% of passengers. Additionally, 73% of all roadway crashes involved multiple riders on the ATV, around 40% occurred on paved roads, and 82% occurred in rural areas. Collisions with an object or another vehicle were the mechanism in 65% of crashes. Roads with speed limits over 50 mph were the location of around half (52%) of all crashes. Among pediatric victims, 3.5% were killed in the crash and 46% of the pediatric roadway crashes resulted in either major injury or death. Moreover, a higher proportion of the fatal or incapacitating injuries were observed in adolescents (12-15 years) than in younger children (35% vs. 23%). Our results illustrate that multiple risky behaviors are common among youth in roadway ORV crashes, including riding on high speed roads, with passengers, and/or without helmets. Adolescents (12-15 years old) are the large majority of pediatric victims, and serious injury or death resulted in almost half of all crashes. Based on these results, it is clear that multiple targeted approaches are needed for youth under 16 years old in order to prevent pediatric fatalities and severe injuries, particularly on the road.