More fatal all-terrain vehicle crashes occur on the roadway than off: increased risk-taking characterises roadway fatalities

Abstract

Background: All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) have steadily increased in popularity, size and speed, characteristics that likely contribute to the alarming rise in ATV-related fatalities. One potentially high-risk activity is riding on the road.

Objectives: To compare fatal ATV crashes that occur on the roadway and off, to more fully understand factors that contribute to fatalities at each location.

Methods: Fatality data from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) were used for descriptive and comparative analyses. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to determine relative risk.

Results: Over 60% of all fatalities (1985-2009) resulted from roadway crashes. After 1998, roadway fatalities increased at over twice the rate of off-road fatalities. Roadway crashes were more likely than off-road crashes to involve multiple fatalities, carrying passengers, alcohol use, collisions and head injuries. Roadway victims were less likely to be helmeted than off-road victims. Passengers and operators with passengers were also less likely to be helmeted than operators riding alone. Helmeted victims were half as likely to suffer a head injury.

Conclusions: Fatal roadway crashes were more likely than off-road crashes to involve risk-taking behaviours (eg, carrying passengers) that could exacerbate the inherent difficulty of operating ATVs on roadway surfaces. Higher crash forces from greater speed, and lower use of protective equipment, may also have contributed to higher roadway mortality rates. Eliminating non-essential ATV road use may be an effective way to reduce ATV-related fatalities. This will likely require a substantial investment in rider education and better enforcement of ATV road use restriction laws.

Figure 1

(a) CPSC data from 1985–2006 were used to plot the increase in fatalities over time. The rate of increase in roadway and off-road fatalities from 1998 to 2006 was then determined using linear regression analysis. The roadway rate was more than twice the off-road rate, p<0.0001. (b) CPSC data from 1985 to 2009 were used to determine the percentage of fatalities for the indicated age ranges on the roadway and off.

Figure 2

(a) The percentage of vehicles with engine sizes within the indicated size range was determined for the indicated year. Data show an increase in the proportion of vehicles with larger engine sizes that were involved in fatal crashes over time. (b) The percentage of fatalities due to compression asphyxia was calculated for the indicated time periods.