Other: Neurosurgeons Back Child ATV Ban

In terms of stress, bereavement is a restorative, healing and even necessary part of the process of losing a loved one. more...		Neurosurgeons Back Child ATV Ban Tom Gilbert September 18, 2006 A group of neurosurgeons is renewing calls for a ban on the use of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) by children under age 16 after a 10-year review of injuries caused by the vehicles. "Children have no experience or training in driving motorized vehicles, and they're driving them on uneven terrain where they can't see what's coming up ahead of them very well," says T.S. Park, M.D., the Shi Hui Huang Professor of Neurological Surgery at the School of Medicine and pediatric neurosurgeon-in-chief at St. Louis Children's Hospital. "This is leading to an increasing number of fatalities and devastating injuries with lifelong consequences for children and their parents." Park and colleagues reviewed all cases seen at the hospital over a 10-year span, identifying 185 patients admitted as a result of ATV-related accidents. They found: One-third of the patients suffered serious neurological injuries including cerebral hemorrhages and skull fractures. Two-thirds of the total patient population had to undergo inpatient rehabilitation. Two patients had spinal cord injuries. Two patients died. "In Missouri, there are currently very few regulations on children's use of ATVs," Park notes. "No training or licensing is required. The law states only that children who drive must be a minimum of 16 years old, and that any riders 18 or under must wear helmets. In many cases even these minimal regulations are being ignored. This must change." Park and his colleagues point out that from the time ATVs came on the U.S. market in the 1970s, the vehicles have caused an estimated 239,000 injuries and 600 deaths. About 40 percent of all ATV-related deaths are children. As further evidence of the dangers posed by ATVs, Park notes that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated that ATV-related accidents led to 125,500 visits to emergency departments in 2003 alone. Park and his colleagues strongly recommend new legislation crafted along guidelines previously proposed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. This would include: Banning children younger than 16 from riding ATVs. Mandatory helmet laws. Mandatory instruction and certification programs for ATV operators. Prohibiting ATVs from public streets and highways. Park also recommends a mandatory recall of all three-wheeled ATVs. Four-wheeled ATVs are dangerously unstable, but three-wheeled ATVs are even more unstable, Park notes. The review was published in a July 2006 pediatric supplement to the Journal of Neurosurgery.
		Email this article to a friend
NEWS SEARCH CONTENTS MEDITORIAL ASK DISCUSS REGISTER HELP HOME
		© 2008 interMDnet Corporation. All Rights Reserved. PRIVACY POLICY