ATVs Not the Only Off-Road Danger to Kids

Go-carts, scooters, other vehicles are leading cause of harm, study shows.

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
Monday, July 2, 2007; 12:00 AM

Copyright © 2007 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

MONDAY, July 2 (HealthDay News) -- Dirt bikes, scooters, go-carts and buggies can all pose a serious risk of injury to kids, a team of researchers report.

They worry that while much media attention has focused on the very real hazards to kids from riding all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), the dangers from these other off-road vehicles is substantial, as well.

In fact, the report in the July issue of Pediatrics found the number of child injuries linked to all types of non-automobile, motorized vehicles continues to rise. Overall, accidents have jumped 86 percent -- from 70,500 injuries in 1990 to 130,900 injuries in 2003, the experts said.

"ATV injuries are a serious concern, but we believe that pediatric injuries related to other types of non-automobile motorized vehicles are also serious," said lead author Christy L. Collins, from the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Columbus Children's Research Institute at Children's Hospital, in Ohio.

The bottom line, she said, is that accidents with each of these types of motorized vehicles can leave kids seriously hurt.

"Children don't have the judgment and motor skills to drive or ride on ATVs, and they don't have the judgment to drive or ride on other types of non-automobile motorized vehicles like go-carts and dune buggies and dirt bikes," Collins said.

There were a total of 1,203,800 U.S. children treated for injuries linked to any and all types of non-automobile motorized vehicles from 1990 to 2003, Collins said. "While the majority of injuries were associated with ATVs (44.8 percent), there were another 21.1 percent related to two-wheeled off-road vehicles, and 13.7 percent related to go-carts and buggies," she said.

In the study, Collins and colleagues collected data on pediatric injuries sustained in accidents involving non-automobile motorized vehicles. The researchers used the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's National Electronic Injury Surveillance System as their source.

The most common injuries were contusions/abrasions (28.3 percent), fractures (24.2 percent), and lacerations (20 percent), Collins noted.