stefan
05-11-2007, 08:06 AM
from ... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18507647/site/newsweek/
[i]With summer on its way, ATV enthusiasts are gearing up for a chance to get muddy. But ERs across the country are bracing for an influx of young patients like B. J. Smith. The number of ATV-related emergency-room visits in the United States has more than doubled in recent years, from 52,200 in 1995 to 136,700 in 2005. Sadly, children younger than 16 account for roughly one third of all ATV-related deaths and injuries. "It's a national epidemic," says Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Columbus Children's Hospital and chair of an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) committee on injury prevention. It's also costly: a recent study concluded that Ohio has in excess of 10,000 ER visits each year for ATV-related injuries, which translates into $30 million in annual hospital charges. "And that's just one state," says Smith.
Despite the high injury rates, ATV sales during each of the past five years have been about 850,000, up from 326,000 in 1996. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission long ago issued guidelines for ATV safety, but despite the warnings
[i]With summer on its way, ATV enthusiasts are gearing up for a chance to get muddy. But ERs across the country are bracing for an influx of young patients like B. J. Smith. The number of ATV-related emergency-room visits in the United States has more than doubled in recent years, from 52,200 in 1995 to 136,700 in 2005. Sadly, children younger than 16 account for roughly one third of all ATV-related deaths and injuries. "It's a national epidemic," says Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Columbus Children's Hospital and chair of an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) committee on injury prevention. It's also costly: a recent study concluded that Ohio has in excess of 10,000 ER visits each year for ATV-related injuries, which translates into $30 million in annual hospital charges. "And that's just one state," says Smith.
Despite the high injury rates, ATV sales during each of the past five years have been about 850,000, up from 326,000 in 1996. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission long ago issued guidelines for ATV safety, but despite the warnings