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Still work to do when it comes to ATV safety

It looks like the Alberta Farm Safety Centre (AFSC) still has some work to do when it comes to getting out its message of off-highway vehicle and horse safety.
Lydia Hittinger, Alberta Farm Safety Centre instructor demonstrates what can happen to a person ‘s brain in an OHV or horse riding accident if they are not wearing a
Lydia Hittinger, Alberta Farm Safety Centre instructor demonstrates what can happen to a person ‘s brain in an OHV or horse riding accident if they are not wearing a helmet.

It looks like the Alberta Farm Safety Centre (AFSC) still has some work to do when it comes to getting out its message of off-highway vehicle and horse safety.

At least if you consider some of the answers Barrhead Elementary School (BES) Grade 6 students gave Lydia Hittinger.

For the last number of years, starting in September, Hittinger travels the province promoting farm and off-highway vehicle (OHV) safety to Kindergarten to Grade 6 students.

“For those of you who remember me from other years, do you remember what I told you about when riding a quad there should only be one rider? And how many of you are following the one seat, one rider rule?” she asked.

Although the majority said they had been following the rule, about a quarter of students said they were not.

“Why aren’t you following the rule?” Hittinger asked.

One student responded that one of his duties on the farm was to clean the chicken coops, a two-person job, and as a result they sit on the same quad.

Another student said their quad was big enough for two people so they often rode two to a quad.

Hittinger responded while ultimately, the decision whether more than one person is allowed to ride on a quad is up to their parents, it is something she and the AFSC discourages.

“Quads are a balanced machine, boys and girls. It is meant for one person only. That means only one bum on the seat, feet on the pegs and both hands on the handlebars,” she said, adding if more than one rider is on an ATV it increases the likelihood of accidents, especially rollovers.

In addition to only having one rider, Hittinger told students it is important to wear the appropriate safety equipment when riding any OHV or large animal, such as a horse.

Although, there isn’t a law for people to wear a helmet when riding an OHV or horse, Hittinger said it is the single most important piece of safety equipment to use.

“The head is the most often injured part of the body when a person is thrown from an ATV or a horse,” she said, adding that 60 per cent of people involved in ATV accidents receive some sort of head trauma and 75 per cent of those are serious.

“And for animals, 70 per cent of the deaths in equestrian related accidents are due to head injuries.”

Hittinger noted that even if a person is able to recover from a head injury, it still can have long-lasting consequences.

Take high school student Hannah Nelson, from southern Alberta, whose story the students heard through a video. One day when Nelson’s parents were out of town she decided to have a quad race with some of her friends.

“Just down my driveway, which was a gravel road,” she said, through a video, adding that there were multiple people on both quads.

When Nelson attempted to turn the quad to race back to the finish line, she lost control, causing her friend to fly off the back while almost simultaneously the quad flipped end over end four times.

When all the dust had settled, Nelson ended up underneath the quad and had hit her head against a rock.

“I was unconscious, I was told, for about a minute, but other than that except for some cuts and bruises and a small cut at the back of my head that was bleeding, everyone was alright,” she said.

Or at least that is what she thought. Three days later Nelson passed out on her way to her bedroom. It turns out Nelson had a third-degree concussion.

“I used to play basketball, volleyball, soccer, but now I can’t because if I get hit in the head it can could cause serious brain damage,” she said, adding if she would have known that she would have worn the proper safety gear. “No helmet, nothing. All I had on was shorts and a T-shirt.”

Hittinger suggested helmet use should be mandatory.

“It might be a good social studies project for you, write to your MLA,” she said.

Hittinger concluded her presentation by asking the students to make a personal commitment to follow the one-seat, one-rider rule and wear a helmet whenever they ride an OHV or horse.

AFSC is a non-profit organization that promotes safe agricultural practices through the development of and delivery of educational practices to Kindergarten to Grade 6 students.

For more information about farm and quad safety visit AFSC’s website at www.cabfarmsafety.com


Barry Kerton

About the Author: Barry Kerton

Barry Kerton is the managing editor of the Barrhead Leader, joining the paper in 2014. He covers news, municipal politics and sports.
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