Texas leads nation in number of ATV-related deaths

Texas leads the United States in ATV related deaths, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety says.

The commission’s 2017 Annual Report of ATV-Related Deaths and Injuries shows that 831 people died in Texas from injuries suffered in ATV accidents from 1982 to 2017.

Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest Medical Center's regional trauma Director Lori Robb said the hospital has had 63 trauma cases related to ATV accidents in the last three years that involved patients who were either in critical condition or who died.

Thirty percent of the 63 patients were younger than 16, Robb said.

Only four of the 63 the hospital treated were wearing helmets at the time they were injured.

Robb said if minor injuries were included in the statistics, the number would be higher.

“A lot of people treat these as toys and they think it’s not going to happen to them or they think it’s not going to happen to their kids and they don't give enough credit to the actual machine that it is and we see the tragedies from that,” Robb said.

Robb says ATV’s should be treated as seriously as a car.

Protective clothing, helmets, and staying off paved roads are among the ways riders can avoid serious injuries, Robb said.