The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) recent report on ATV Safety shows a 5% decline in the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) injury rate from 2001 to 2002; 31% decline in the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) injury rate from 1988 to 2002; 14% decline in the fatality rate for the period of 1999 to 2001; 15% decline since 1997 in the proportion of total ATV-related injuries that involve children under 16.

The CPSC report states that its latest findings are based on “New risk estimates (for injuries and deaths) that make use of improved estimates of the numbers of ATVs in use.” The CPSC prefaced its report with the observation that, “This year we made several changes to the report to bring it more in line with the current ATV market and to aid in its readability.”

More than 15 million Americans ride ATVs in a safe and appropriate manner every year. ATVs have become an essential tool for ranchers, law enforcement, the armed forces, recreational riders, handicap accessibility to remote locations, and others according to the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA).

In the United States, sales of new ATVs have increased steadily since 1991. Sales figures for 2002 were 5.6% over those of 2001. Even with this increasing popularity, the CPSC’s data shows that the number of injuries is growing at a lesser rate in proportion to the ATV population itself -- in fact, the ATV injury rate actually declined 5% from 2001 to 2002, the same year the ATV industry saw over 5% growth in new unit sales. (SVIA)