Government Accountability Office releases ATV report
May 12th, 2010 by Kurt Niland
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a new report called “All-Terrain Vehicles: How They Are Used, Crashes, and Sales of Adult-Sized Vehicles for Children’s Use.” The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is responsible for monitoring ATV safety and federal rulemaking affecting the manufacturing, sale and use of the vehicles, requires GAO to report on the various uses and advantages of ATVs and the nature, frequency and costs associated with ATV crashes.
The CPSC and GAO define ATVs as “off-road motorized vehicles, usually with four tires, a straddle seat for the operator, and handlebars for steering control.” The ATV category does not include side-by-side vehicles such as the Yamaha Rhino and Polaris Ranger, which the government now classifies separately as recreational off-highway vehicles.
GAO says that ATVS have increased in popularity during the last decade and have become a concern to the CPSC and various safety and consumer groups because of their propensity to roll over. Of particular concern is the matter of children who are injured or killed while driving adult-size ATVs or riding as passengers on an ATV that experiences a rollover or crash.
Last October, the CPSC announced it had voted to publish an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to address safety hazards associated with off-highway vehicles and ATVs. According to the CPSC, “preliminary evaluations indicated that the vehicles may exhibit inadequate lateral stability, undesirable steering characteristics, and inadequate occupant protection during a rollover crash.”
The GAO report will likely influence what new regulations, if any, the CPSC adopts to govern the use of ATVs in the U.S.
GAO analysis found that “injuries and fatalities increased substantially during the last decade, but not as rapidly as the number of ATVs in use, which nearly tripled. According to Commission staff, an estimated 816 fatalities occurred in 2007, the agency’s most recent annual estimate, compared with 534 in 1999, a 53 percent increase.”
GAO says an estimated 134,900 people were treated in emergency rooms for ATV-related injuries in 2008 – a 65 percent increase over the 81,800 people treated in 1999 for injuries resulting from ATV use. Approximately one-fifth of ATV-related deaths and about one-third of the injuries involved children.
No federal regulations exist governing the use of adult-size ATVs by children. GAO says that accidents involving children frequently occur when children are allowed to ride ATVs that are too large and too difficult for them to handle.
Despite the fact that ATVs can weigh about 600 pounds or more and travel at speeds up to 70 mph, many adults allow children to drive or ride them for recreation. As a result, the U.S. is seeing a continued rise in ATV-related injuries and deaths in children.
“Manufacturers and distributors have agreed to use their best efforts to prevent their dealers from selling adult-sized ATVs for use by children, but recent GAO undercover checks of selected dealers in four states indicated that 7 of 10 were willing to sell an adult-sized ATV for use by children.”
CPSC estimates that costs associated with ATV fatalities and injuries more than doubled in less than a decade, soaring from $10.7 billion in 1999 to $22.3 billion in 2007.
To download a version of the GAO’s full report, go here.