STEVENS POINT, (AP) - State officials are stressing the importance of helmets after two of the four children killed in all-terrain vehicle crashes this year in Wisconsin weren't wearing protective headgear.
As of June 15 in Wisconsin, 10 ATV crash deaths have happened this year, compared to 27 last year, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. But only one person under the age of 18 was killed in 2014, the agency said.
Two boys, ages 10 and 14, were killed in March. Two 12-year-old boys were killed this month.
The numbers don't necessarily reflect a new trend in the number of children killed in ATV crashes, but they should serve as a reminder to parents, said Gary Eddy, the agency's ATV and snowmobile administrator.
First of all, ATVs never should be viewed by parents as toys to entertain their children, he said.
"Some of them are capable of very high speeds, and all of them take some degree of skill and experience to operate," Eddy said of all-terrain
vehicles.
In addition to providing guidance, parents should always know when, where and how their children are operating an ATV, he said.
"If there is one thing to
take away from ATV safety, it's that helmets save lives," Eddy said.
State law requires anyone under 18 to wear a helmet and anyone 12 or older to take a safety certification class in order to drive an ATV on public property, Stevens Point Journal Media reported.
Half of the children killed in ATV crashes this year weren't wearing helmets, according to the agency, and none of them had taken the class.
As of June 15 in Wisconsin, 10 ATV crash deaths have happened this year, compared to 27 last year, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. But only one person under the age of 18 was killed in 2014, the agency said.
Two boys, ages 10 and 14, were killed in March. Two 12-year-old boys were killed this month.
The numbers don't necessarily reflect a new trend in the number of children killed in ATV crashes, but they should serve as a reminder to parents, said Gary Eddy, the agency's ATV and snowmobile administrator.
First of all, ATVs never should be viewed by parents as toys to entertain their children, he said.
"Some of them are capable of very high speeds, and all of them take some degree of skill and experience to operate," Eddy said of all-terrain
vehicles.
In addition to providing guidance, parents should always know when, where and how their children are operating an ATV, he said.
"If there is one thing to
take away from ATV safety, it's that helmets save lives," Eddy said.
State law requires anyone under 18 to wear a helmet and anyone 12 or older to take a safety certification class in order to drive an ATV on public property, Stevens Point Journal Media reported.
Half of the children killed in ATV crashes this year weren't wearing helmets, according to the agency, and none of them had taken the class.