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Study highlights injury rate for children operating all-terrain vehicles

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A review article published in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons notes that although 15% of all-terrain vehicle riders are children, the group accounts for approximately 27% of the annual injuries and 28% of the deaths related with these vehicles.

Investigators associated these findings with children being unable to correct a vehicle rollover and potentially taking more risks than older drivers.

“Most accidents are rollovers, when the vehicle tips over and crushes the rider,” lead author Jeffrey R. Sawyer, MD, stated in an press release from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). “Children, because of their low weight and strength, are unable to correct the rollover and get crushed.”

“Children are going to ride [all-terrain vehicles] ATVs, so they need to do it safely,” he added. “The most important ways to prevent injury are adult supervision, helmets, protective clothing and age-appropriate vehicles.”

Rollovers

The fact that rollovers are the most common cause of injury could help explain why many children involved in ATV accidents suffer lower extremity fractures, according to the release. During a rollover, the lower extremities can often become pinned underneath the vehicle.

“Other injuries unique to ATV accidents include partial or complete foot amputations, usually secondary to the foot being caught in the chain, and clothesline-type injuries to the head and neck that occur when the rider strikes a clothesline or fence,” the authors wrote.

Incidence and severity

Orthopedic injuries, the review found, are the most commonly reported injuries in ATV accidents. The review noted that Caucasian males between the ages of 18 and 30 years are most frequently injured in ATV-related accidents. In 80% of accidents, drivers rather than passengers are injured.

The review found 9,633 reported ATV-related deaths between 1982 and 2008, and 2,588 (27%) of those deaths were children younger than 16 years old. According to the release, the number of reported ATV-related deaths per year increased from 29 in 1982 to 699 in 2007. Furthermore, the number of reported ATV-related injuries per year increased from 10,100 in 1982 to more than 150,000 in 2007.

“The incidence and severity of injuries has increased dramatically during the past 10 years, and most of these injuries are preventable,” Sawyer stated in the release. “Unfortunately, there is a high prevalence of life-threatening injuries, such as head injuries, abdominal injuries and thoracic injuries.”

“In addition, there is a large public health cost that is not only in terms financial, but in productive life-years lost,” he added. “In other words, this is a problem that affects young people with many productive years ahead of them.”

References:

• Sawyer JR, et al. Orthopaedic aspects of all-terrain vehicle-related injury. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. Vol 19, No 4, April 2011, 219-225.
• www.aaos.org

Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.

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