Cover Story: Costs of ATV Accidents
WSAZ.com, Posted: 9:06 PM Feb 21, 2008
Reporter: Bill Murray
Email Address: bill.murray@wsaz.com
Since 1990, West Virginia's had the highest population based
death rates when it comes to four wheeler accidents! Health care
costs, at last estimate, were more than $120 million dollars a
year and the push continues, to toughen laws already on the books
to regulate the use of ATVs.
Doctor James Day is an orthopedic surgeon and he told us with the
level of injuries and economic burden, there's got to be some
sort to realization the problem needs to be address.
Day said, "there's a lot of things that can be done. A lot of
this can be done with mandated laws for motor vehicles you have
to be 16 to have a driver's license, but to drive an ATV you have
to be able to sit on the seat.
The state legislature is once again, looking at four wheeler
safety with the latest proposal will tighten the ban on paved
state roads including the 20,000 miles of unlined country roads.
The last safety law passed was four years ago, but since then,
more than 130 people have been killed and two thirds of them on
paved roads. Norbert Federspiel's the director of the Division of
Criminal Justice Services says his office and the Bureau of
Public Health have complied new research.
Federspiel's said, “it's interesting that in southern West
Virginia, were more ATV deaths occur than in any other part of
the state, they also have the Hatfield McCoy trail which has had
only 2 deaths on the past 5 years at the trail. There's no reason
why you can't do safe ATV driving and accessing trail. It's the
unauthorized, or beyond the trail system, deaths that are most
dangerous."
Now a full third of West Virginia residents killed in ATV wrecks
had a revoked, or suspended driver's license with 60% of four
wheeler deaths on paved roads are from head injuries.
15% of all those killed are children and over half of ATV related
deaths occur in the lower 16 counties of the state.
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