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Our beautiful state of Idaho is known for its picturesque mountains, hills and millions of acres of public land. This natural beauty creates the perfect opportunity for us to enjoy riding our motorbikes, ATVs and side-by-sides. On these outdoor adventures, it’s important we enjoy our ride while also making safety a top priority.
Off-highway vehicles (OHVs) create a thrilling ride but, unfortunately, crashes do occur, and injuries are common. In fact, it is estimated that four children are seen from injuries sustained in OHV crashes every hour in emergency rooms throughout the nation. Brain and head injury is one of the most common types of injuries.
One way to protect our children is to ensure proper helmet usage. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, helmets can reduce the likelihood of fatal head injury by 40% and non-fatal brain injury by 60% or more.
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Below are tips to ensure your child is wearing a proper helmet:
- Helmets should be Department of Transportation-certified. This DOT certification ensures the helmet meets proper safety standards.
- Measure the circumference of your child’s head to find the correct helmet size. Helmets should fit snugly with even pressure around their head, with little movement allowed when moving their head in the helmet.
- Along with a helmet, children should wear close toed shoes, long pants, long sleeve shirt, gloves and goggles when riding.
Correct riding etiquette will also help to keep children safe. Whether they are riding on private or public land, here are steps you can take to ensure your child’s safety:
- Only use the correct size vehicle for the driver. Children should not operate adult-sized ATVs.
- Stay off public roads and avoid crossing public roads.
- Do not ride with multiple passengers on a single rider ATV.
- Children operating OHVs should be supervised by an adult.
- Contact Idaho Parks and Recreation to enroll your child in a free OHV safety course near you.
Enjoy our state’s wonderful opportunities for outdoor recreation this summer and follow these tips to help keep Idaho’s kids safe!
Sources: American Academy of Pediatrics, Healthychildren.org
Katie Barnhill
Katie Barnhill is the Magic Valley program coordinator for St. Luke’s Children’s Injury Prevention, which focuses on improving the safety of children in Idaho. Barnhill lives in Kimberly with her husband and son. When she is not working in the community or chasing around her young son, she enjoys cooking, exercising and watching movies with family.
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