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- 50 EVEN A 10 OR 12 YEAR - OLD CHILD REALLY APPRECIATE THAT THEY MAY BE RISKING THEIR LIVES OR INVITING LIFE CONFINED TO A WHEELCHAIR IF THEY SOMEHOW MESS UP IN PERFORMING THE TRICKY BALANCING ACTS THAT ARE REQUIRED TO RIDE THESE VEHICLES ? HARDLY . DO PARENTS WHO LET THEIR SMALL CHILDREN RIDE 3 - WHEELED ATVS UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT THE FACT THAT THEIR PRECIOUS SON OR DAUGHTER CAN EASILY FLIP OVER IN AN INSTANT AND BE CRUSHED , PARALYZED , OR KILLED ? NO WAY . YET BECAUSE OF THE MARKETING BY ATV COMPANIES EXPLICITLY AIMED AT KIDS , AND BECAUSE OF THE STABLE APPEARANCE OF THE VEHICLE ITSELF , YOUNGSTERS AND PARENTS HAVE BEEN LULLED INTO BELIEVING THAT THE 3 - WHEELED ATV COULDN ' T POSSIBLY TIP OVER . . . THAT IT ' S JUST NOT LIKE THE TRADITIONAL 2 - WHEEL DIRT BIKE THAT CAN ' T EVEN STAND ON ITS OWN WITHOUT SOME SUPPORT !

BUT CPSC ACCIDENT STATISTICS FOR ATVS , WHEN COMPARED TO THOSE FOR OTHER RECREATIONAL OFF - THE - ROAD VEHICLES , POINT UP HOW SPURIOUS THIS THINKING IS . IN 1984 , THE ESTIMATED FREQUENCY OF INJURY ASSOCIATED WITH ATVS WAS NEARLY DOUBLE THAT FOR MINIBIKES AND TRAIL BIKES AND MORE THAN EIGHT TIMES THAT FOR SNOWMOBILES . IF WE TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE NUMBER OF OFF - THE - ROAD RECREATIONAL VEHICLES IN USE IN 1984 , THERE WERE 37 EMERGENCY ROOM - TREATED INJURIES PER 1 , 000 ATVS IN USE COMPARED TO 2 , 4 INJURIES PER 1 , 000 MINIBIKES AND TRAIL BIKES IN USE , AND 8 . 1 INJURIES PER 1 , 000 SNOWMOBILES IN USE ,

EVEN MORE TELLING , THE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF VEHICLE - RELATED INJURIES REQUIRING HOSPITAL IZATION PER 1 , 000 VEHICLES IN USE HIGHLIGHTS THE PERILS OF ATV USE . IN 1984 , THERE WERE 4 . 99 HOSPITAL IZATIONS PER 1 , 000 ATVS IN USE , COMPARED TO 1 . 14 HOSPITAL IZA