Albertans love their off-highway vehicles (OHV).
And why shouldn’t they? As a group of vehicles, they are not only fun, allowing their riders to access the great outdoors, but as many area farmers will attest they are practical as well.
However, like any machine or tool they are often abused and used in ways not intended and that is why it is time for Alberta to bring in a law requiring people of all ages to wear a helmet when riding an all-terrain vehicle.
According to the Injury Prevention Centre, from 2002-2013, there were 185 ATV related deaths, averaging 16 per year.
Between 2002 and 2011, 44 per cent of ATV deaths in this province were the result of head injuries – and in almost 80 per cent of those cases, the riders were not wearing helmets.
Of the children who died, 43 per cent were not wearing helmets. Most of those who died were young men between the ages of 20 and 34. But children make up between 15 and 20 per cent of ATV fatalities.
Between April 1, 2014, and March 31, 2015, more than 300 children under the age of 16 were injured while riding ATVs. Forty were hospitalized with serious injuries and two died.
Sobering statistics to say the least and one that in all likelihood will not improve anytime soon, not without the help of legislation.
Over the last number of years, Barrhead Leader reporters have covered safety presentations by Alberta Snowmobile Association (ASA), the Alberta Farm Safety Centre (page 25A) and the like, which all extol the importance of wearing proper safety gear, including helmets when riding OHVs. However, we still see numerous people, of all ages, without helmets.
And what’s even more puzzling to us is since 2002, Alberta has a law for mandatory helmet law for people under the age of 18 riding bicycles.
So why aren’t there similar rules when riding ATVs, or a horse for that matter? ATVs and other OHVs are powerful motor vehicles, yet relatively few laws govern their use. Basically all one needs is to have the means to purchase one of these vehicles and you are, literally in some cases, off to the races.
It is time that we change that and join all the other provinces who have helmet laws in place. With any luck, the law will help spur a change in culture as well.
Remember the fuss when the seatbelt law came in 1987? At the time only 28 per cent of Albertans regularly buckled up. Today that number is 95 per cent.
One can only hope a helmet law will spur a similar change.
