The risks of an ATV

The industry that manufactures all-terrain vehicles generally tries to push the blame for injuries and deaths onto the operators of their machines. And, generally speaking, that is correct. But even when people follow safety rules, horrible things can happen.

ATVs are popular because they are so darned fun. But they are dangerous, and Utahns have gotten plenty of examples of this thrown in their faces in recent weeks. The most prominent of these was the tragic death of former congressman Bill Orton, who lost control of his vehicle off the edge of a steep sand dune at the Little Sahara Recreation Area and landed with the ATV on top of him. He was wearing a helmet, but it did no good.

And last weekend was a particularly bad one. A woman died in Garfield County when the ATV she shared with her husband flipped on top of them. She wasn't wearing a helmet. And a Millard County sheriff's deputy died at Little Sahara, again when his vehicle flipped on top of him.

Given the popularity of this form of recreation, it makes no sense to talk about banning the vehicles. State and federal laws already restrict their use in sensitive areas, but accidents happen regularly in places where they are legal. Given the relative instability of the vehicles, their weight (between 600 and 800 pounds) and the speeds they are capable of reaching, there is no way to avoid all accidents.

What the state could do, however, is require better training. Proper safety equipment, such as a helmet, can prevent many serious injuries (although clearly not all of them). That was the case in April when a man flew off a 35-foot cliff and landed in a creek. He suffered some bad injuries, but without a helmet the outcome could have been much worse.

The lust for speed and off-road freedom seems hard-wired into the nation's recreational psyche. Consider this quote from a New York Times article dated June 11, 1971: "In mobile, affluent America, these vehicles are leaving virtually no part of the American landscape untouched — beaches and resorts, sand and trails, and roads in those areas where they have not been banned."

The writer was referring to dune buggies, the ancestors of today's four-wheeled ATV. Utah boasts hundreds of miles that are legally set aside for this sort of fun. The city of Payson is even trying to get a grant to build a trail system for ATVs, mountain bikes and motorcycles.

But it doesn't hurt to forcefully remind people of the risks they voluntarily accept when they climb aboard.