All-Terrain Vehicle-related crashes among children and young adults: A systematic review of the literature with illustrative case report
Abstract
All-terrain vehicle (ATV) by its design, represent a highly dangerous mode of transportation. Pediatric ATV crashes were at least 30 times more likely than four-wheeled vehicles crashes and almost 20 times more likely than motorcycle crashes.
ATV riders are highly vulnerable road participants who are exposed to severe, often multiple injuries. Relative to automobiles, ATVs, due to their imperfections, pose a greater hazard of death or serious injury to operators and passengers.
The most common mechanism of crashes is rollover, hitting a stationary object followed by hitting a moving vehicle. While lower extremity injuries most commonly occur in ATV-related crashes, head injuries are most frequent in fatal crashes.
The operators who are killed often are children and young adults, too young to legally operate all-terrain vehicles. The aim of this paper is to highlight some of the medico-legally important aspects of fatal and survived ATV crashes illustrated by an analysis of a case involving an ATV.
Although ATVs-associated morbidity and mortality is increasing problem among children, extensive literature search failed to find a comprehensive, medico-legal review of the ATV-related crashes.