Alabama ATV Crashes

Aug 12, 2013 - Birmingham, Personal Injury by Cross & Smith

Our Birmingham personal injury lawyers handle cases involving Alabama ATV crashes.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that there have been nearly 300 ATV-related deaths in Alabama from 1982 through 2011. Nearly a third of those occurred within the last three years of that time frame, and 80 were children under the age of 16.

There is no state agency that regulates ATVs. The state is one of only four in the country with no ATV laws. That almost changed in 2/car-accidents/alabama-traffic-accidents-likely-to-increase-with-economic-recovery/, but the effort sputtered out. The only formal restriction is that ATV’s may not be driven on sand dunes or on beaches along the Gulf of Mexico. Still, even in states that have stricter laws, sometimes it’s not enough to prevent tragedy.

The CPSC recently released an infographic detailing ATV-related injury and death statistics nationwide.

ATV-related deaths have fallen slightly over the last few years, from a peak of 833 in 2006 (following five straight years of increases) to 590 in 2010. In the most recent year, at least 82 of those 590 deaths were children.

Many of those ATV fatalities occur in southern states:

• Texas – 478
• Florida – 407
• Tennessee – 358
• North Carolina – 331
• Kentucky – 419
• West Virginia – 44

With regard to injuries, based on 2011 figures, more than 30,000 people suffered head or neck injuries on ATVs. That accounted for about 28 percent of the total. Another 31,300 (29 percent) suffered from hand or arm injuries, 23,400 (22 percent) suffered from torso injuries and 20,900 (20 percent) suffered from leg and feet injuries.

About a third of those fatal crashes occurred on paved surfaces, while 20 percent occurred on paved roads, 12 percent in fields or farmlands and 9 percent in the forest or woods.

Additional Resources:

CPSC Infographic: Big Real Rough Tough Deadly ATV Statistics, July 9, 2013, Infographic, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission