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Pennsylvania ATVs

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Any safety tips about ATV use in

Pennsylvania?

ATVs, with their four wheels and fat tires, may look safe. But appearances are misleading. They are not as stable as the family sedan.

In fact, despite the four tires, they balance on three points. That’s because the rear axle pivots to increase maneuverability. Unfortunately, with maneuverability comes instability. The ATV is unstable on uneven ground and hills – the very terrain it is most often driven on.

In Pennsylvania and elsewhere across the country, outdoor industries such as agriculture, construction, landscaping and forestry are making increased use of ATVs. With the increased use comes increased risk of danger and death.

There are some important safety tips that can help avoid workplace deaths caused by ATV accidents.

First, be careful when modifying ATVs.  All-terrain vehicles come with very little carrying space, so employers often equip the vehicles with cargo bays or tanks for herbicide or liquid fertilizer. But any additional weight has the potential for increasing instability. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) points out that fatal accidents have happened when companies modify ATVs outside manufacturers’ guidelines.

Second, employees should be trained in ATV operation. Some drivers, for example, stand up to shift the vehicle’s weight in an attempt to keep it from overturning. That strategy can be deadly. If a worker is standing when the ATV tips over, serious head injuries can follow.

Third, workers operating ATVs should always be outfitted with safety equipment like seatbelts and helmets.

Fourth, passengers should not be allowed on ATVs. The vehicles are designed for one person – the driver. Adding passengers adds both weight and instability.

The death toll as a result of accidents on ATVs is going up steadily. A tragic accident Labor Day weekend in Arizona points up the problems of ATVs.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a report recently that deaths by ATV climbed dramatically from 1982 to 2004, the rate going from 29 to 470. That’s a 15-fold increase. Injuries are at 136,100.