Death of 11-year-old ATV rider in Collier prompts call for safety training

Death of 11-year-old ATV rider in Collier prompts call for safety training The death of an 11-year-old Collier County girl in an all-terrain vehicle crash over the Memorial Day weekend has put a new spotlight on ATV safety. In 2011, the ATV Safety Institute trained 1,014 adults and 120 children in Florida, Purcell said. Talk of passing state regulations to limit the size of ATVs that children can drive is complicated by the fact that children of the same age aren't always the same size, said Brian McMahon, treasurer of the Everglades Conservation and Sportsmen's Club. Coletta said an ATV park is only a partial solution to safer ATV riding in Collier County. Children as young as 6 can earn the necessary training certificate to ride on public lands, but child safety advocates say that is too young. In 2008, Florida began requiring ATV riders younger than 16 to undertake a safety course to be able to ride on public lands. Florida, along with California and South Carolina, are considered the states with the best ATV safety regulations, ATV Safety Institute chief instructor Amber Purcell said. "Florida stacks up great against other states," Purcell said. McMahon said that would take pressure off riding on private land, such as where Ortiz died. In a 2003 deal, the South Florida Water Management District pledged to find 640 acres for off-roaders in return for Collier County handing over miles of rural roads in Southern Golden Gate Estates for an Everglades restoration project. Florida only requires helmets for ATV drivers younger than 16 when they are riding on public lands. It also is illegal to carry a passenger on an ATV if it isn't designed for additional than one rider. She wasn't wearing a helmet, the FHP reported. The tragedy prompted Collier Commissioner Jim Coletta to meet with Sheriff Kevin Rambosk to plan an ATV safety course for children along with their parents. Florida's ATV riding laws rely heavily on safety training to avert disasters, but requirements for safety training and other ATV regulations apply only on public lands. "You can put all the rules you would like to on these things - they are going to (break them)," Coletta said. Purcell said the safety institute will pick up the mileage tab and has a program to send trainers to where the course-takers live. Safety begins in the showroom at Florida Motorsports in Naples, ATV salesman J. Last year, Collier County agreed to take $3 million from the water district and to try to finish the hunt itself. Some manufacturers offer an up to $100 incentive to complete the course, Purcell said. Getting to a hands on course, though, can be a challenge. The closest sites are in Sarasota and Okeechobee, but an online check last week found those courses are booked up, kicking course-takers to Lakeland. Salesmen are trained to know ATV safety requirements, including the age restrictions manufacturers apply to different size classes of ATVs. Online courses are free, and several ATV manufacturers will pick up the cost of hands on courses for their buyers, she said. The number of ATV crashes has been declining in Collier County and statewide. But just through February of this year, the Sheriff's Office had reported two ATV crashes. He said customers are guided toward the age-appropriate models, but if the parent doesn't have a child in tow, salesmen have to trust that the buyer is telling the truth about the age of the rider. "There's only so much we can do," Bube said. Head injuries are the cause of most ATV-related deaths, Safe Kids USA says, but ATV crashes also can break bones and cause abdominal injuries, for example when an ATV flips on top of a rider. "The solution is to teach kids responsibility wherever they're going to be (riding)," Coletta said. " . Statewide, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reported 406 ATV crashes in 2010, the most recent data available, compared to a high of 801 crashes in 2007. Death of 11-year-old ATV rider in Collier prompts call for safety training Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 04/06/2012