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Important safety messages for students and families. All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) are used widely in New Zealand, particularly on farms. ATV usage has increased every year since their introduction in the early 1980’s. ATVs are now the primary source of farm transportation. Correspondingly, the associated accidents and injuries have also increased at an unacceptable rate with 5% of those accidents involving children under 16 years of age. The four major suppliers of ATVs in New Zealand, along with NZ Police Youth Education Service, ACC, OSH and Federated Farmers are seriously concerned about this increasing accident rate. Over 300 serious injuries and another 800 injury claims as a result of ATV accidents are received by ACC every year. Sadly these include the deaths of both adults and children.Industry and safety authorities consider a number of factors contribute to these sad statistics including: - usage by inexperienced and untrained riders Manufacturers of ATVs and Safety authorities recommend that no one under the age of 16 be allowed to operate an adult sized ATV of over 101cc. However, industry is about to embark on a consultation round to establish an industry agreed standard. At the conclusion of this unit, encourage the following debate and discussion amongst your students - what minimum age limit would they set and why? CURRICULUM FOCUS Health & Physical Education Curriculum Personal Health & Physical Development Learning Outcomes Helping students be aware that many children are injured on farms each year. Some of these injuries have been sustained while riding adult sized ATVs and their use by children has resulted in death. Knowing an adult sized ATV should not be used by children under 16 for helping with farm work or for recreational purposes. (See teacher notes re age) Helping parents become aware of the dangers to children using or riding on an ATV. Knowing that children from urban environments who visit farms will have little appreciation of the hazards an ATV can present. Teaching rural children that they should develop a strategy to resist any pressure applied to use the vehicle because an ATV can be very attractive for city children. Knowing that an ATV plays an important part in farm management but requires a considerable amount of skill to operate safely. THINKING ABOUT INJURY Have students share experiences about any times they have had an injury. What was the injury and what was the cause? Do they think there is any difference between an injury and an accident? Tell the students that often people will refer to an injury as ‘just an accident’. This gives the impression that accidents just happen and can not be prevented. Do they think this is a true statement? Have students think back to any injuries they have sustained. What events led to the injury? Could the injury have been avoided if other actions had been taken. Talk about the consequences of injury. Why is it important to take action to avoid injuries? List common actions which can be taken to lessen or avoid the risk of injury, eg - wearing of protective clothing when playing sport such as
As a class or in groups, have students brainstorm and list the possible hazards that a ‘first time visitor’ to a farm should be aware of. Urban students may need lots of help. Rural students may be very aware of these but should think of it as helping city students becoming familiar with farm hazards. Focus on farm machinery and introduce the ATV as an important vehicle to have on a farm. What uses can they list for an ATV on the farm, eg - replacing the horse
LEARNING TO USE AN ATV SAFELY Share the death, serious injury and injury statistics (teacher notes) with the class. Are they surprised by the number of injuries? Do they think it is the fault of the ATV or the person riding it? Do they think riding an ATV safely is easy or do these statistics tell them something else? Tell students that an ATV in capable hands looks like ‘a lot of fun’, is safe and very easy to use. Point out that a skilled ATV operator in actual fact has to be very strong and have developed a large number of skills to make sure he/she rides it safely, having participated in an approved riding course. Visit the ACC website at www.acc.co.nz Click on injury prevention > rural safe > machinery and locate the ATVs index. Click on children. Click here to download the Safekids ATV pdf. Have students locate and list the skills needed to become a safe ATV rider. What has a very important influence on handling and keeping the ATV stable when turning corners and riding on slopes?
PRECAUTIONS FOR ATV RIDERS In groups, have students conduct research from the pages and answer the following questions: - what clothing and protective headgear should ATV drivers wear? CHILDREN AND ATVs What reasons can the students find for ensuring that children 15 years and below should never drive an adult sized ATVs or ride an ATV as a passenger? In pairs, have students role play the following scenario. A friend of your age from the city is visiting their farm. They see the ATV parked in the shed. Dad is not around and your friend puts the pressure on saying ‘I know how to drive those - it's easy and your father will never know we've taken it for a spin’. What do you say to your friend to prevent possible serious injury? Discuss role plays and decide on the best strategy. IMPORTANT MESSAGE TIME Explain to the students that they are learning about the dangers of ATVs because many organisations, including the manufacturers of ATVs are very concerned about the dangers they can pose to children and to inexperienced drivers. Point out that some drivers, especially on farms may be unaware of the injury statistics. Students brainstorm and list ways they can get these messages to other children, family members and to ATV drivers, eg invite an ATV retailer to talk to the students or run an ATV safety day at school to highlight dangers.
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