All-terrain vehicles, or ATVs, are a popular form of recreation among Southern Californians and sports enthusiasts. Although popular, many of these vehicles – and especially those with 3-wheel designs – pose overwhelming risks of injuries and even death.
The dangers of ATVs have been widely publicized, including long-standing media coverage regarding the dangers of 3-wheel ATVs. In fact, regulators with the federal government once urged manufacturers nearly 20 years ago to drop 3-wheel models in favor of the more stable 4-wheel versions widely available today, and required them to adopt a system of safety warnings and rider training in order to combat high rates of accidents.
Although 3-wheel ATVs may not be as common today, it is important for all consumers who seek thrills or family fun to remember that these all-terrain vehicles, including 4-wheel models, still pose significant safety risks. This is due to their propensity to tip over when being operated, as well as inherent dangers when driven on pavement. What’s more, many ATV manufacturers have come under fire in recent years for serious defects that led to fires, wrecks, and numerous injuries and deaths.
Statistics Show Clear Risks
Despite improvements made by manufacturers, rates of injuries involving ATVs have barely improved since they became a target for regulators in the late 1980s. Although fatal accidents have declined, especially as 3-wheel models lost favor, numerous victims are still killed each year in ATV accidents. Data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission make the risks clear:
- There are roughly 7.6 million ATVs in use across the U.S.
- ATV accidents account for roughly 800 fatalities per year.
- Injuries resulting from ATVs are estimated at approximately 140,000 annually.
According to consumer advocates, the high rates of injuries and deaths, and the inability to stem the tide, is a marked failure by government safety regulators. It is also a clear indication that in the absence of accountability and laws, manufacturers will continue to make products that pose risks to the public, especially if they continue making profits doing so.
While top ATV manufacturers claim their products are safe when used, reckless riding only accounts for so many accidents, injuries, and deaths. Because federal regulators have not tested ATV stability extensively since the early 90s, one recent test commissioned by The Oregonian noted researchers finding serious design issues that made popular ATV models dangerously prone to rollovers. In fact, federal stats indicate that over half of all fatal ATV crashes involve vehicles that overturned or flipped forward or backward. Research of fatal crash statistics also found that death was as likely to happen to a rider obeying basic safety warnings as to a rider who did not.