An all-terrain vehicle crash claimed the life of a 16-year-old girl from the Chinquapin community in Duplin County, North Carolina last weekend. According to NBC affiliate WITN in Washington, North Carolina, the girl was identified as Raven Kennedy, a student at East Duplin High School.

Authorities investigating the accident said Kennedy was driving the ATV on private property when it rolled over after Kennedy attempted to turn onto a dirt road. Her passenger, 20-year-old Michael Pickett, was taken to Duplin General Hospital, where he was treated and released.

In South Carolina, a 13-year-old boy died when he was riding his ATV with friends. According to Florence County Coroner Bubba Matthews, the boy, who was identified as Benjamin Byers, lost control of the ATV and was crushed when the vehicle rolled over on top of him. Byers was rushed to Lake City Hospital where he was pronounced dead just before 3 p.m. on January 11.

Near White City, Oregon, three two teenage girls were treated for injuries at a local hospital when the ATV they and another friend, also a teenage girl, flipped. Reports say that the ATV’s driver lost control of the vehicle just as she attempted to cross Highway 140 in southern Oregon just outside White City.

One of the girls of the girls was ejected when the vehicle rolled over. The other girls were trapped under the vehicle after it rolled over multiple times. All three girls survived the crash.

In Nova Scotia, Canada, a teenager died when he was ejected from the vehicle after hitting some rocks in the road. 18-year-old Alexander MacPhee of Nine Mile River was riding his ATV with two friends when the accident occurred. Halifax Royal Canadian Mounted Police said that MacPhee was wearing a helmet but that it had come off when he the rock. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

In an effort to reduce the incidence of injury and death caused by ATV accidents, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced last October that it voted to publish an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to address safety hazards associated with ATVs.

According to the CPSC, the agency’s preliminary evaluations found that ATVs may exhibit inadequate lateral stability, undesirable steering characteristics, and inadequate occupant protection during a rollover crash.

“The need for federal rulemaking on ROVs (recreational offroad vehicles) is the consequence of not having a voluntary standard that effectively safeguards consumers, said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum in a statement, adding that she believed her agency could play a vital role in making ATVs safer.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › ATV accidents turned January into a tragic month for many teenagers

In Jackson County, Alabama, where at least one person was killed in an ATV accident last year, representatives of the Sheriff’s Department, Emergency Management Agency, the Scottsboro Fire Department, AirEvac, and other emergency services are in the planning stages of developing community education and training courses for ATV safety.

“ATV safety is very needed in our county,” Michael Sims, coordinator for the Jackson County Extension Office, told Jackson County’s Daily Sentinel. According to the Sentinel, Sims said that more adults and children need to be wearing helmets while riding and often they have too many have passengers riding on the vehicles.

In Pittsylvania County, Virginia, two Pittsylvania County volunteer fire departments are hosting an ATV Safety Awareness event this weekend to “provide tips on minimizing the dangers of riding an ATV,” the Danville News reports.

Proceeds from the event, which includes a yard sale and bake sale, will benefit the family of a local teen who was killed in an ATV accident in October. The money raised will help cover medical expenses and scholarships.

Tragically, in Pittsylvania County just last Friday, a 2-year-old boy fell off an ATV that his mother was driving and died. The mother and the boy’s sister were also injured when the ATV crashed. The tragedy occurred after the fire departments planned the Pittsylvania County awareness event. The timing of the incident underscores the need for more ATV safety events.

Regardless of the safety measures a driver takes, all-terrain vehicles are by their very nature dangerous vehicles that can maim or kill even the most experienced drivers and their passengers. When drivers disregard or don’t know the laws governing ATV operation (if their state has rules), or if they fail to take the most basic safety precautions, a fairly dangerous machine becomes a very deadly one.

Some ATVs, such as the Yamaha Rhino, contain design flaws that make them unreasonably dangerous. Yamaha designed the Rhino to fit in the bed of a standard pick-up truck, giving it a narrow stance that makes the vehicle prone to roll over, even when it is driven on a flat surface and at a low rate of speed. The Rhino’s propensity to roll over, combined with a lack of safety features that adequately protect passengers, has caused hundreds of serious injuries and dozens of deaths across the U.S.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Communities offer ATV safety events to mitigate off-roading dangers

Reports say that 15-year-old Danny Tyler Corn was the driver of the Honda TRX300 ATV. 14-year-old Tyler Noles was a passenger. Corn was driving the ATV west along Holland Chattoogaville Road and had crossed Georgia Highway 114 onto Johnson Cemetery Road, where he lost control of the vehicle.

According to the Rome, Georgia, State Patrol, the ATV sideswiped a parked car, hit a mailbox, and then crashed into a tree head-on. Both boys were ejected from the vehicle.

The crash occurred at approximately 7:15 pm. A nearby resident said he heard a loud bang when it happened.

Responding officers called for a medical airlift. According to Chattooga County’s Summerville News, Corn was pronounced dead at the helicopter’s landing zone and was not airlifted. Noles was flown to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, where he was admitted with serious injuries and remains in stable condition.

Georgia is one of the few states that has no laws governing ATV operation or safety. The only existing rules require off-road vehicles to be equipped with brakes and a muffler and that drivers obtain permission before using the vehicles on private property.

Because ATV manufacturers have done little to enhance the safety features of their vehicles, the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission announced last month that it would begin the process of regulating ATVs.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › ATV crash kills one Georgia teen, seriously injures another

Reports say that Rivers was driving on a path near South Chestnut Street and East Franklin Avenue in the Beulah community southeast of downtown Foley when he struck a wire that had been strung across the path. London sustained serious neck injuries when she hit the wire and was pronounced dead at the scene. Rivers also received serious neck injuries and was taken to South Baldwin Hospital for treatment. The older girl suffered no injuries and was released to family.

Authorities say the accident took place about 6:15. The incident is under investigation and no arrests have been made. Some reports say that the wire was strung between 2 posts, one on each side of the trail, bearing “no trespassing” signs.

London would have celebrated her fourth birthday next week.

According to government records, children represent 40% of all ATV-related injuries and deaths. More than 50 children are admitted to Alabama Children’s hospitals every year with injuries they received in an ATV rollover or other accident. The most common injuries associated with ATV accidents involve the head, face, and spine; traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and paralysis, and fractures are some of the serious injuries children typically receive in ATV crashes.

ATV injuries and deaths have escalated sharply in the last couple of years as off-road vehicles become increasingly popular.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › 3-year-old Alabama girl dies when ATV strikes a wire

Dunnam was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities say she likely died instantly. Her cousin was sent to Thomas Hospital in Fairhope with minor injuries and released the same day.

Dunnam was a student at Fairhope Middle School. She left behind her parents, Bill and Beverly Dunnam, her brother Brandon, who graduated from Fairhope Middle in 2007, and a community of family, neighbors, teachers, and friends who mourn her absence.

Fairhope Middle principle Deandra Lamar Powe told the Mobile Press-Register that Dunnam loved playing sports and being outside. She could always be seen in the neighborhood riding her skateboard and running around with friends.

“She was a born athlete,” Powe told the Press-Register. “And she was so much more than that. She was a child who came forward and said ‘Can I help?’ She helped with so many things at our school.”

Powe also said that Dunnam, an honor-roll student, was one of many applicants chosen to assist in the front office of Fairhope Middle because she was so responsible and mature for her age.

“A loss like this is one of those things that you can’t understand, and you just know God has a better place for her,” Powe told BaldwinCountyNow.com.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › 13-year old Alabama girl dies in Polaris ATV rollover

The rollover occurred deep in the woods near the town of Chatom in the southwestern corner of Alabama. According to the Washington County Sheriff’s Department, rescuers had to travel to the scene on 4 wheelers to reach the men before bringing them out of the woods.

Justin Threadgill was pronounced dead while being transported to the University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile. His brother, 32-year-old Jeremy Threadgill, was taken to U.S.A. Medical Center at the University of South Alabama, where he was treated for minor injuries and released.

ATV deaths and injuries have skyrocketed in recent years alongside the vehicles’ spike in popularity. The alarming number of injuries and fatalities caused by ATV rollovers and other accidents prompted the federal government to establish a website devoted to ATV safety and awareness.

According to ATVSafety.Gov, there have been 202 reported ATV-related deaths in Alabama from 1982 to 2006. Nationally, approximately 1,000 people are killed and 150,900 people are treated in the ER every year because of ATV related injuries. The number of ATV deaths and injuries has nearly tripled since 1990.

Source: Man Dies in ATV Rollover

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › ATV rollover claims the life of Alabama man

21-year-old Jessica Lynne Braithwaite

In a report by the Athens, Alabama-based News-Courier, Braithewaite’s mother, Karen Abernathy of Elkmont, Ala., described Jessica Lynne as “free-spirited” and “outgoing.”

“She was very independent,” Abernathy told the paper.

Braithewaite was a cheerleader at West Limestone high School, where she graduated in 2005. She leaves behind an 18-month-old son Skylar.

Witnesses say that Braithewaite was attempting to pass another ATV when she lost control of the vehicle. Abernathy told the News-Courier that her daughter had ridden on ATVs previously.

According to the Southern Medical Journal, published by the Southern Medical Association, there has been a dramatic rise in ATV-related deaths and injuries proportional to vehicles’ explosion in popularity over the last 3 years. One study, conducted by Dr. George M. Testerman of East Tennessee State College of Medicine and published this year, showed that ATV-related injuries in his trauma center increased by 78 percent in a three-year period from 2004 to 2007. Only 20 percent of the injured ATV drivers were female.

Studies show that ATV overturns and rollovers are more common when the driver is 50 years or older. Younger drivers are more likely to be involved in collisions and suffer from head injuries than older drivers.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Young Alabama mother dies in ATV accident

According to an article in the DeSoto Times-Tribune, the sixth grade class at Lewisburg sponsored the planting of a red maple in front of the school, and they decided to dedicate the new tree to the memory of their classmate Lauren. A plaque bearing Lauren’s name sits beside the tree. The red maple was donated by Quality Landscaping and Garden Center of Olive Branch, Miss.

“Everytime you see it, you can think of her,” said Kelly Wallhood, whose children also attend Lewisburg Middle-High, to the gathered crowd. “You can watch it grow and remember your friend.”

The girl’s father, Trae Dilworth, told the Times-Tribune that he will stop by to see the tree frequently.

“It’s just a living memory of Lauren that will hopefully be here for years to come,” he told the paper.

Lauren’s father was also moved by the kindness of the community in remembering his daughter, especially because she and her family were new in town.

“To have only lived here a short period of time, it’s amazing that such caring people thought so much about Lauren,” Dilworth told the Times-Tribune. “This says a lot about the community.”

Lauren and her friend Emily Bates, also 11 years old, were both in the Rhino when the rollover occurred. Both girls were pinned underneath the vehicle. Dilworth died at the scene and Bates died later at the emergency room.

Dilworth’s science and social studies teacher, Tabitha Green, said that Lauren made a quick and lasting impression on those who knew her, if even for a brief time.

“I never met a girl who was so happy,” Green told the Times-Tribune. “We love Lauren and miss her.”

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Community remembers girl killed in Yamaha Rhino rollover

Careless driving is believed to have contributed to the accident. According to WSFA, Alabama State Trooper Zachary Harrelson said the driver of the ATV “failed to yield to the ‘Game and Fish’ vehicle and was subsequently struck by the ‘Game and Fish’ vehicle.”

The news report cites statistics from the Alabama Department of Public Safety that say in 2007, 121 ATV accidents have occurred on public roads in Alabama, resulting in 94 injuries and 13 deaths.

No helmet laws exist in Alabama, and training isn’t required by Alabama law, although it is offered by many ATV dealers.

As ATVs are becoming more popular among children, chidren are becoming more at risk of having an ATV accident.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › ATV safety questioned after fatal accident in Alabama

According to the story, Rhino operators are discovering that side-by-side off-road vehicles such as theirs are technically classified as ORVs, which may be subject to different legislation than ATVs, including requiring operators to register the vehicle, wear a helmet and carry proof of insurance.

Provincial legislation draws a clear distinction between ATVs and ORVs, classifying an all-terrain vehicle as having saddle-seating designed for one person, and handlebars, while Rhinos are technically off-road vehicles – they have a steering wheel, bench seats, and are designed for up to four people.

A quick search for ORV and ATV regulations reveals that most U.S. states have various laws governing the operation of these types of vehicles, and also different ways of classifying them. Some states draw a clear distinction between ATVs and ORVs, while others are not as specific. Many times, the terms are used interchangeably.

In many states, an ATV or ORV must be titled – this is proof of ownership. Additionally, some states require that an off-road vehicle is registered for riding on public land and roads, and ATVs are only permitted on public land and roads that are clearly designated for use by off-highway vehicles (OHVs or ORVs).

According to information provided by the Alabama Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division, in Alabama, any vehicle used on public roads must be registered, titled, and tagged by the Department of Revenue’s Motor Vehicle Division (MVD). However, there is an exemption for both ATVs and ORVs. If you have a vehicle used only on your own property or off-road, you do not have to register, title, or tag it.

Each state is different, so ATV and ORV owners should check with their state for distinctions and regulations.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › ATV or ORV?