ATVs & Quad Bikes Injuring Children: What You Need To Know About Recalls

ATV accidents exist as a kind of crossover between motorcycle and automobile accidents and, sadly, according to a new study, children now account for a third  of all ATV accidents that result in severe, life-threatening injuries. Specifically, according to the Consumer Protection Safety Commission, just in the span of two years, there were more than 2,000 deaths in the US associated with all off-highway vehicles, and ATVs accounted for three-fourths of all of these fatalities, including those due to manufacturer-related (or product liability) issues.

The Safety Commission recently released a hazard warning indicating that children under the age of 16 are at the highest risk of injury and death when driving and/or riding in ATVs, in part due to the potential to collide with other vehicles present on paved roadways. These accidents can often be extremely tragic when children are involved – a large proportion of them end up in a trauma center, and can even die, due to their injuries. In fact, every hour, four children in the US go to the emergency room due to injuries sustained in ATV accidents, the most common being abrasions, contusions and/or fractures to the arms, head, legs, neck, and/or torso.

Why Are ATVs So Dangerous?

While ATVs were designed to be driven off-road and not on paved surfaces, unfortunately, this often does not stop their use on these surfaces, where they are often unstable and difficult to control. They also pose a significant tip-over and rollover hazards when turned at certain high speeds, and they have also been reported as being prone to fire risks as well.

Product Liability & Recalls

In addition to children simply not belonging on ATVs in the first place, there have also been a number of product liability issues associated with ATVs as well. Some of these defects have included cracking exhaust pipes, electronic power steering failures, firewall issues, leaking fuel hoses, steering-related defects, throttle pedal failures,and other issues. Some of the ATV recalls have included the following:

• The Textron Specialized Vehicles, which include the Arctic Cat Alterra 600 and Tracker 600 ATVs, due to suddenly losing engineer and headlight power
• The Segway Powersports Fugleman UT10E and UT10X UTVs, due to overheating in the cockpit read panel between the seats and cargo bed
• Yamaha’s 2021-2022 Kodiak 700 ATVs due to these vehicles missing the “Maximum Loading Limit” labels and the company’s Wolverine RMAX Off-Road Side-by-Side vehicles due to damaged fuel tanks
• The Intimidator & Mahindra UTVs due to the throttle cable freezing at low ambient temperatures
• Polaris’ Pro R 4 Premium and RZR Pro R 4 Ultimate recreational off-road vehicles due to an incorrectly routed battery cable, the Outlaw 110 EFI Youth ATVs for fuel line leaks, the 2020-2021 Slingshots due to lose read wheel studs potentially causing the wheels to detach, and the 2021 RZR Pro XP and RZR Pro XP 4 ROVs due to oil leaks posting fire hazards
• EGL Motor’s EGL and ACE-branded youth all-terrain vehicles for failing to comply with the federal mandatory safety standards
• Honda’s Talon ROVs for engine failures, resulting in loss of control
• BRP’s 2022 Can-Am Outlander ATVs for incorrect speedometers, its 2020-2021 Can-AM Defender HD10 side-by-side vehicles due to the drive belts potentially overheating and breaking, posing a fire hazard, and its 2021 Can-Am Outlander and Renegade ATVs due to the steering knuckle detaching from the lower arm
• Maxtrade’s Youth Coolster Mountopz ATVs for failing to comply with federal mandatory safety standards
• CRT’s Motor Youth ATVs for failing to meet mandatory safety requirements
• Luyuan’s youth ATVs for failing to comply with federal mandatory safety standards
• Venom Motorsports’ Venom youth ATVs for failing to meet mandatory safety requirements
• CFMOTO’s 2021 CFORCE 800 XC ATVs due to electronic steering malfunctions
• Kawasaki’s TERYX ROVs due to the fuel pump retainer plate bolts coming loose, causing fuel leaks

Macon, Georgia ATV Accident Attorneys

If you or a loved one has been injured in any kind of vehicle accident, contact our experienced Macon personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Buzzell, Welsh & Hill today to find out how we can be of assistance.

Sources:

bmj.com/company/newsroom/children-very-vulnerable-to-severe-injury-from-quad-bike-use/

moms.com/thousands-of-children-hacve-lost-lives-to-atv-accidents-warning-sent-to-parents/

consumeraffairs.com/atv-recalls