Saturday, August 18, 2007

Cindy Loose's callous story of all-terrain vehicles as child's play promotes a disturbing travel activity ["Hey, Dune; For a wheelie good time in California, hop on an ATV and leave the real world in the dust," Travel, Aug. 12].

More than 100 children die every year in ATV crashes, and more than 30,000 are admitted to hospitals, often with devastating injuries. The Consumer Product Safety Commission, the ATV industry and my organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics, all recommend that no child under 16 operate an ATV intended for adults. Despite this, Loose placed her daughter and her 15-year-old daughter's friend on adult-size ATVs, proclaiming an afternoon of once-in-a-lifetime fun that could have quickly become a tragedy.

While we appreciated the inclusion of a box on ATV safety, the effort was too little, too late. Safe operation of an ATV requires as much or more skill and judgment as does driving an automobile.

In fact, because of the extreme danger posed by ATVs and the high numbers of deaths and life-altering injuries they cause, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that no child under the age of 16 operate any size or model ATV.

-- H. Garry Gardner

Washington

The writer is chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Committee on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention.