Saturday ATV crash heightens safety concerns

By Steve Moyer

Nevada Daily Mail

A passenger in a pickup truck was injured when an All Terrain Vehicle attempted to make a U-turn in front of the truck she was riding in on Vernon County Road Katy, two miles north of Dederick. According to a report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Emily Sumner, 16, El Dorado Springs, was transported to Cedar County Memorial Hospital by private vehicle after the accident, which occurred Sunday at approximately 3:45 p.m.

Neither the driver of the pickup, Larry R. Robeson, 19, El Dorado Springs, nor the driver of the ATV, Brooke N. McKinney, 16, Harwood were injured.?

Driving an ATV at high speed down the road or splashing through a creek or jumping over railroad tracks may seem fun but doing so is dangerous and illegal, the patrol says.

The MSHP has a brochure that talks about ATV safety, titled, "ATVs: Safety Comes First." The brochure is available online at http://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/MSHPWeb/Publications/index.html.

While there is no age requirement for driving an ATV, a person must have a valid driver's license to operate an ATV on any Missouri road or highway and must comply with all rules of the road. Other requirements for ATVs, except those used in competitive events include: a lighted headlamp and taillamp; a slow-moving equipment emblem mounted on the rear of the ATV; a bicycle flag extending at least seven feet above the ground and attached to the rear of the ATV; an adequate muffler system; a U.S. Forest Service-qualified spark arrester; and a brake system in good operating condition.

In addition, ATV riders must have the permission of landowners to ride on private land and must remove the ATV if the landowner requests it. The vehicles should not be used on or near railroad tracks, for both safety and legal reasons. It usually takes more than a mile for a train to stop, even using emergency brakes. Railroad tracks are on the private property and anyone riding an ATV on that property is committing a crime as well as putting their life in danger.

Since ATVs come in many sizes it is important to match the rider with the ATV, the patrol says. Small individuals may have trouble operating a large ATV and, conversely, a large individual may have equal trouble with a small ATV.