West Virginia: ATV Accidents On The Rise

Dan Frith

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It is that time of year when people start getting outdoors more...becoming active..but these numbers from the state of West Virginia involving fatal accidents and All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) is scary!

Dr. Jim Helmkamp, director of the West Virginia University's Injury Control Research Center, reports that as of April 1, four people had been killed in West Virginia while riding ATVs.  In 2006, 54 people died, although by April 1 only seven had been killed in ATV accidents.  Those numbers followed suit for 2007, when by the first of April only eight people were killed but by the end of December 45 were dead, according to the Criminal Justice Statistical Analysis Center and Bureau for Public Health report, which Helmkamp helped prepare.

These numbers are way too high!  If you drive an ATV be smart.  Use a helmet, stay off paved roads, and don't drink alcohol before or during operation of the ATV.  

Be Active...Not Stupid!