MOUNT VERNON — Any activity involving high speeds and heavy machinery has inherent risks, but preparation and proper safety precautions can make a big difference when it comes to safety.
People familiar with ATVs agree with the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recommendation regarding rider safety courses. The hands-on training better prepares riders for the unique driving challenges of riding off road.
Paul Staats, owner of Valley ATV, has been an ATV dealer in Danville since 1994, and has been riding ATVs for over 30 years. He said many of his customers take advantage of an incentive Polaris offers, which not only pays for a rider training course for new owners, but provides a gift certificate to be used to purchase gear, including safety gear.
Staats said classes such as the one offered by Mid-Ohio Suzuki Honda Yamaha Kawasaki later this month, prepare teens and adults for safer riding.
“We’ve had quite a few people go do it,” Staats said of the training.
Class information and enrollment, as well as general safety information about ATVs, is available at www.ATVsafety.org. Knox County Sheriff David Barber said the dealers who sell ATVs in the county are good resources for finding rider training.
“They do a real good job promoting safety,” Barber said.
Barber added that the protective gear riders wear is as important as driver training.
“It’s what you have on, as well as the way you operate them,” he said. “I’m a huge advocate for wearing a helmet.”
Paramedics and emergency room personnel who regularly treat people injured by ATVs say the importance of helmets cannot be stressed enough.
“Wearing a helmet is definitely your best chance of surviving any type of head injury,” said Amy Lanuzza R.N., trauma coordinator and EMS liaison at Knox Community Hospital. “Helmets do save lives, they truly do.”
Because ATVs are not allowed on public roads, and are driven legally in Knox County only on private property, they can be driven by people without a valid driver’s license. Children and teens are much more likely to be injured riding a full-size ATV designed for an adult, than one that meets industry standards for youth riders, according to the CPSC.
Carrying passengers on ATVs designed for one rider also increases the chance of an accident and rider injury. The CPSC advises never riding as a passenger or carrying a passenger, because the interactive nature of ATV riding requires drivers to shift their weight freely in all directions, depending on situation and terrain.
“Most four-wheelers are designed for just one person,” Staats said, adding that many ATVs are clearly marked with warnings not to carry passengers.
Staats said practice and experience are keys to being safe while enjoying ATVs.
“It’s like riding a bicycle or driving a car,” he explained. “The training is a big part of it. You wouldn’t drive down I-71 the first time you drive a car.”
Having lost friends and a family member over the years to ATV accidents, Staats said he no longer rides without a helmet.
“There’s been a lot of times I’ve hit my head when I’ve been wearing a helmet, when I could have been really hurt without it,” he said.
Twenty-year-old Nick Beckley of Walhonding has been riding since he was 15. He now works for Valley ATV, and is an experienced rider who sometimes participates in races.
“I always wear a helmet and goggles because I’ve wrecked several times without them and gotten hurt,” he said.
“These aren’t toys,” Staats said. “You’ve got to respect the machine and be careful.”
