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Reed intends to file bill aimed at ATV safety |
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Friday, 18 December 2009 |
SDN Staff Reports
State Rep. Dannie Reed, R-Ackerman, plans to introduce legislation to require safe practices and encourage safety education for all-terrain vehicle use.
Reed issued a statement Thursday warning that ATV use is killing and injuring drivers and passengers more than hazards than normally dealt with in the state.
“Mississippi’s ATV injury rate is three times the rest of the country and far too high,” he said, adding that the state has lost more people on ATVs than it has soldiers the Iraq war. “This should tell us something,” Reed said.
Some dealers offer free training but few take it and there are no ATV safety regulations in Mississippi law, he said.
Most of the deaths and disabilities occur among children, who are “losing their whole future when they get killed,” he said.
Health Department figures report that 29 people were killed last year and over 1,500 traumatic injuries occurred due to ATV accidents in Mississippi, he said.
Reed believes that normal ATV operation does not follow manufacturers’ and government safety recommendations, but that operation can be made safer by apply ing safety practices such as wearing helmets and having children drive correctly-sized vehicle.
Manufacturers warn that ATVs are not safe for operation on hard surface roads yet many are ridden daily on highways and county roads, he said.
A Center for Mississippi Health Policy ATV Issue Brief reports that states with regulations have about half the accident rate than states that do not.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 19 December 2009 )
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