An especially tragic aspect of the rise in ATV-related accidents and casualties is the increased number of children victimized by such incidents. Unfortunately, up to a third of the hundreds of people killed and thousands injured in ATV accidents will be children under 16-years-old. Children are at a great risk of injury when they engage in riding ATVs.

The unpredictable nature of ATVs makes them susceptible to flipping over at any given moment, which can catch even the most experienced and mature drivers off-guard. The power of these vehicles, lack of proper restraints, and unstable terrain on which they are ridden can all contribute to a serious accident. Although the danger of these vehicles is known, ATV manufacturers have not taken the proper measures to increase the safety of their products. Therefore, having proper training and following safety guidelines are the most effective measures for protecting children and preventing injury.

 Defective ATV and Recreational Vehicle Design

The basic design of ATVs renders them unstable, and, there are currently no regulations governing ATV stability. This means that there are no guarantees of the vehicle's resistance to rolling over or pitching in any given direction.
There are four main types of design-defect stability situations that are recognized for the purposes of filing a case:

• Rearward pitch-over

• Forward pitch-over

• Sideways rollover

• Combination rollover / pitch-over crash

The first type, rearward pitch-over, is associated with a sudden increase or decrease in speed. Forward pitch-over occurs when the vehicle flips end-over-end. A sideways rollover typically comes as a result of a sharp turn that inhibits the driver's control of the ATV.

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All Terrain Vehicles (ATV)