ATV Stats
It seems that 555 people, which includes over 100 children, died in all terrain vehicle (ATV) accidents in 2006. Officials have said that they expect the number to increase as more hospitals and coroners report information. The Consumer Product Safety Commission also published in their annual report that and additional 146,600 people have been treated in emergency rooms for their ATV-related injuries of which more than a quarter were children.
Consumer groups and parents who have lost children in crashes have complained for years about the safety of the popular off-road vehicles.
The industry contends it's not the ATV but the driver that's the problem. "ATVs have never been shown to be an unsafe product, but there have been bad decisions made by people sitting on the seat," said Mike Mount, a spokesman for the California-based Specialty Vehicle Institute of America.
