Raleigh News & Observer

"New law could be lifesaving: Staying Safe - All-Terrain Vehicles"

Thomasi McDonald, Staff Writer

Last year, 11 North Carolina children under the age of 16 lost their lives in all-terrain vehicle accidents. Legislators hope a law they passed this summer will help save lives.

The ATV safety law, signed by Gov. Mike Easley on Aug. 18, goes into effect Dec. 1. It was touted Wednesday by youth advocates and other supporters who hope the measure will reduce the state's ATV-related deaths by 50 percent. The new law prohibits parents and guardians from allowing children under the age of 8 to operate an ATV.

The grassy fields of an ATV training course off U.S. 64 Business were the setting for a news conference Wednesday hosted by the All-Terrain Vehicle Safety Institute, an industry group based in California.

The institute, in tandem with the N.C. Child Fatality Task Force, helped draft the new law. They described it as a "landmark" measure. All ATV operators must wear a helmet, and children between the ages of 8 and 15 may operate an ATV only under the visual supervision of a person 18 or older.In an effort to get young children off large ATVs, the law requires operators to ride on machines that are age appropriate.

The law also prohibits the operation of vehicles by anyone under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

And effective Oct. 1, 2006, every ATV operator born on or after Jan. 1, 1990, must possess a safety certificate indicating successful completion of an ATV safety course sponsored or approved by the ATV Safety Institute.

Last year, 34 people were killed in ATV-related accidents in North Carolina, said Tom Vitaglione, a member of the Child Advocacy Institute and co-chairman of the N.C. Child Fatality Task Force.

Nationally, about 92 percent of all ATV-related fatalities occur when people indulge in risky behavior, such as riding without a helmet, using alcohol or drugs and driving too fast, safety experts reported.

"That's why the Child Fatality Task Force got to work on having safer operation of these vehicles," Vitaglione said. "The machines are becoming more and more popular in this state. We were expecting without the law a tremendous number of deaths."

Before the new law, North Carolina was one of six states without ATV laws, along with Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and Hawaii.

"To go from nothing to the most comprehensive laws in the country is really laudable," said Kathy Van Kleeck, vice president of government relations with the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America, a nonprofit that serves as a resource for the ATV Safety Institute.

Any violation of the law is punishable by a fine of up to $200. The law does not apply to the operation of ATVs when used for farm purposes or for hunting and trapping.

The law's supporters said the punitive measures are light-handed for a reason: it's an educational law that is similar to the state's seat belt and child safety seat laws.

"We want to get the word out so that people will comply and save lives," Van Kleeck said.

Copyright 2005 Raleigh News and Observer