Training kids in ATV safety an uphill battle in injury reduction plan

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Training kids in ATV safety an uphill battle in injury reduction plan

JUDY MONCHUK
Canadian Press


Thursday, March 06, 2003

CREDIT: (CP/ Edmonton Sun/Brendon Dlhouy)

An air ambulance takes an injured teenage boy to University of Alberta Hospital after the three wheel ATV he was driving collided with a car on a highway southeast of Beaumont, Alberta August 2, 1998. Experts agree that training kids on the proper use of all-terrain vehicles is the best way to reduce injuries. (CP/ Edmonton Sun/Brendon Dlhouy)

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CALGARY (CP) - Wayne Tymchuk makes a brain of jelly each night to demonstrate graphically why helmets are needed for all-terrain vehicles (ATV), but it's often what the safety instructor finds in classrooms that's more chilling.

The 14-year-old girl with barbed-wire scars on her legs who drove an ATV into a fence. Another with barbed-wire cuts on her face.

Or the 12-year-old boy who shrugged off Tymchuk's safety spiel, boasting he has a "need for speed."

"I told him I know the maximum speed on a new titanium wheelchair is about four kilometres an hour," said Tymchuk, who has been travelling across northeastern Alberta since December promoting protective gear and training on the popular motorized bikes.

"You almost have to scare them a little because they're fearless," he said.

By end of the school year, Tymchuk expects to have spoken with 10,000 children about the Quad Safe program - most of them in rural areas where ATV use is common.

Growing concerns about the number of ATV-related deaths and serious injuries haven't translated into demand for safety instruction in this province, where there are 40,000 registered owners and an estimated 100,000 quad riders.

In Alberta alone, 20 people died in ATV accidents between July 1999 and June 2002. Nine were children, seven were driving and all were under 16. The number of people injured seriously enough to require hospitalization has also jumped, from 225 people in 1997 to 483 in 2001.

Many children suffer life-altering head or spinal cord injuries. Yet instructors say it's rare to find anyone in an ATV training course who doesn't have to be there as a requirement for their job.

"I've probably spoken to over 4,000 students and I've had two people who are really showing interest in their son or daughter taking a safety course," said Tymchuk, who advertised programs for a year around St. Paul, Alta. "That's it."

The only kids Blake King has seen in day-long safety programs are his own.

"We offer it, but no one's putting kids through training," said King, whose Safety Now Training in Red Deer, Alta., teaches proper ways to balance, steer and handle ATVs.

It was a seeming lack of public awareness about ATV hazards that led to the school information campaign, says project co-ordinator Denise Matiushyk.

"We routinely see young children below age six on ATVs - either as passengers or (driving) themselves," said Matiushyk. "We know they're often riding machines that are too large for them or have too much power."

That doesn't surprise Laurie Leclair of the Alberta Safety Council, who receives calls from parents who want to put their kids in safety courses - on full-sized quads that are often too heavy and too powerful for anyone who is not full-grown.

"There are no laws regarding the size of an ATV versus age - not in this province," said Leclair. "Manufacturers and the safety community recommend a size of output based on age, ability and responsibility. It's rarely respected."

ATV use has exploded across North America in recent years. More than 90,000 quads were sold in Canada in 2002 - up from about 30,000 in 1996 - costing between $6,000 and $14,000. While many are used on farms or in oil and gas exploration, the biggest growth market is recreational use.

The most popular machines are built for speed - hardy 300-kilogram vehicles that go more than 100 km/h with powerful 450 cubic centimetre engines capable of scrambling up and over a wide range of terrain. Manufacturers warn that the vehicles are designed to carry only one person and that anyone under 16 should never drive an ATV over 90 ccs.

Those in the business say people often balk at the idea of paying $3,000 for a smaller ATV their child will outgrow in a couple of years.

"If you can't afford (a smaller) one for your children, I'd recommend that kids under 16 not ride the ATVs because there are a lot of dangers," said King. "They are not large enough to balance the ATV."

Raynald Marchand of the Canadian Safety Council says it's hard to persuade people of the need for training without incentives. Quebec is the only province with a real carrot for young riders: access to its world-renowned trail system.

"If you're 14 and 15, you have to take training or you will not be allowed on the public trails system," Marchand said from Ottawa.

"Youngsters who want to ride on trails will take it. The youngster who wants to ride on Mom and Dad's land, there's nothing you can do. The government has no business on private land. So a farmer who says to his six-year-old 'you can ride it' we can't do anything about."

About 6,500 people a year go through the safety council training courses. Of that figure, 2,500 are Quebec teens and Marchand says it has paid off with a dramatic drop in injuries. New Brunswick, a largely rural province which has seen ATV injuries jump in recent years, will introduce legislation later this spring making safety courses for teens mandatory.

Marchand believes all provinces will eventually adopt youth training and the need for protective gear such as gloves and helmets will follow.

"That will help a great deal in making sure youngsters are dressed properly - it's a lot more fun when you don't get hurt," he said. "Wear the helmet, make sure the ATV is of the size you can handle. And parents have to hear that message as well."

© Copyright 2003 The Canadian Press

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