Watch above: A man was killed while riding an ATV with friends over the weekend renewing calls for more safety rules and regulations in Saskatchewan. Meaghan Craig finds out what the experts say and what path other province’s have taken.
SASKATOON – There are renewed calls for a review of Saskatchewan’s All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) Act following a fatal crash in the Biggar area over the weekend. Biggar RCMP say it happened just before 8 p.m. Saturday, just south of Highway 14.
A 20-year-old from the area was killed instantly after the ATV he was driving rolled.
Two male passengers were sent to Saskatoon’s Royal University Hospital, one of whom was ejected from the side-by-side ATV during the collision. As of Sunday, RCMP confirmed one of the passengers had been discharged while the other remained in hospital for more observation but was in stable condition.
READ MORE: Fatal crash involving off-road vehicle near Biggar, Sask.
At this point in the investigation, a Prince Albert RCMP collision reconstructionist has been brought in to assist the local detachment. According to RCMP none of the males, aged 17 to 20, were wearing helmets and there’s reason to believe alcohol may have been a factor.
The tragedy has prompted a call for change.
“We would like to see mandatory training,” said John Meed, general manager of the Saskatchewan All-Terrain Vehicle Association (SATVA).
“We understand that this could be an imposition to some people but we think the safety benefits at the other end would be more than compensating for that.”
Meed says the rules would be similar to snowmobile regulations where a structured training program would be required for every driver born after Jan. 1, 1989 and is at least 12 years old.
According to the Canadian Paediatric Society, the majority of provinces and territories do not require mandatory ATV safety training for youth under 16 years of age.
READ MORE: ATV safety a priority for children: organization
In Saskatchewan, the rules are that you need to be at least 16 years of age and have a valid driver’s licence to operate an ATV on public land.
“If you are between the ages of 12 and 15 you can only operate the ATV on public land if you have either taken an approved training course or you’re supervised by someone that has had a valid driver’s licence for at least one year,” said Kelley Brinkworth, with Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI).
Helmets are mandatory on Saskatchewan public roads and yet of 594 ATV users aged 12 to 20 who participated in a national survey, only 24 per cent said they always wore their helmet.
“Without adequate enforcement people can generally have the attitude that well my chances of getting caught are almost nil,” said Meed.
READ MORE: A road to recovery: surviving a brain injury and life six years later
According to SGI officials, not all collisions that occur on private property have to be reported so stats are significantly skewed.
These numbers provided below represent collisions that are reported to SGI under the Traffic Safety and ATV Act. SGI also points out that because ATVs are not required to be registered there may be some incidents not reported to police or SGI.
| ATV Collisions from 2010-14 | |||
| Total Collisions | Casualties | ||
| Injuries | Fatalities | ||
| 2010 | 47 | 48 | 5 |
| 2011 | 24 | 25 | 3 |
| 2012 | 39 | 43 | 5 |
| 2013 | 43 | 47 | 1 |
| 2014* | 20 | 16 | – |
| Total | 173 | 179 | 14 |
*2014 numbers exclude ATV collisions on private property, which are yet to be finalized
According to numbers provided by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health, between 2009 and 2015, an average number of 180* Saskatchewan residents were hospitalized both within the province and in out-of-province hospitals with ATV-related injuries. *Note: 2014-15 number of 182 hospitalizations as part of the calculation is a preliminary number and is to be finalized in the next few weeks.
Even more sobering, data collected by the Canadian Paediatric Society during a two-year time period indicated that of all those who died from ATV related trauma, 40 per cent were 19 years old or younger.
“They’re really not actually dangerous at all if, if you wear the proper equipment, hopefully you’ve taken some training and you ride responsibly,” added Meed.
For more information on training and safety information, visit SATVA.
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