I was looking for statistics concerning the deaths and serious injuries between ATVs and motorcycles. I needed a "normalizing" statistic such as deaths and serious injuries per unit sold per year or something like that.

I'm thinking an ATV is safer to ride than a motorcycle at speeds 45 mph or less. ATVs have a bigger footprint on 4 wheels. Neither vehicle is worth a darn in a collision with a cement mixer.

Has anyone seen any data?

David

 

Haven't really seen any details but a big killer with quads is when the machine rolls over or onto you. Lots of folks been crushed or mangled by their machine. Motorcycles are a lot lighter.

 

If you google it you'll find several studies that show ATVs are more dangerous than motorcycles.

 

Very hard to believe as the ATV is not out on the highway with all the crazies like a motorcycle would be. majority of atv accidents is just plain carelessness!!

 

If you read the owners manual that came with my 2001, you might not even ride an ATV. Seemed like half of it was about safety, and many stories how people died on them. I had never ridden an ATV, before, so I took that little book to heart. I don't know if the manuals are like that today, but I hope so. Recently, I heard a story from a friend that was hiking and they met a couple on an Arctic Cat TRV 700 , and she talked with them. An older couple on there first ATV, just got it. She heard later the guy lost control of it, wife jumped off, but the guy stayed with it as it tumbled down a mountain, lost his life. Kinda sobering. Wonder if he read the owners manual? I'll bet ATV's have more accidents per 100,000 miles than about any form of transportation.

 

Yes, motorcycles are lighter unless they are in the heavy cruiser class. My ATV weighs over 800 pounds. The consumer protection bureau has lots of sobering statistics on these dangerous ATVs. But I am interested in statistics, not sob stories. Trail rollovers on ATVs are a good way to get hurt bad. And ATVs are certainly tippy. Farm tractor roll overs were too frequent in Iowa and Minnesota, although rare for the hours these machines operate. You have no chance if a tractor rolls on top of you. The roll bars, or ROPS have helped reduce these deaths.

Generally ATVs are slower than motorcycles. Heck, I'm putt putting around the neighborhood at 25mph or less. (I pick up litter if I see it. Justifies me being out there on the roads.) Slower speed is one reason I thought they might be safer. And in the springtime, motorcycle accidents involving winter sand on the roads are not uncommon. This type of "spill" would be more difficult on an ATV due to the 4 wheels. The chance of collisions with other vehicles would be the same between motorcycles and ATVs.

I agree that most ATV injuries and deaths are due to recklessness and carelessness. Probably the same with motorcycles.

I would expect many more motorcycle injuries and deaths than ATV injuries and deaths just due to the shear numbers of motorcycles out there.

Nobody hurt in this ATV rollover. I understand the operator jumped clear on the uphill side. You know, my compact tractor had a "angle indicator" like a bank indicator ball in an airplane. 20 degrees was "red" danger. I think ATVs might be in the same area. Someone ought to jack one up and see what angle it starts to tip. It might be surprising.

David

 

If you look for "atv roll over" on YouTube there are about 151,000 results. If you assume that most roll over accidents aren't caught on film then the actual number of roll overs would be much higher. I don't think any of mine were caught on video but they still happened and I was lucky enough to be able to walk away from them.

 

David,

I believe the false sense of security one might get from believing ATVs are a safe or safer form of OHV than a dual-sport/motox bike may be a reason why you still see some ATV riders out on trail not wearing protective equipment, mainly a helmet.

I really cringe when I see this as it is completely unfair some do this as what am I supposed to do if I come across someone who got hurt? Drive away? I just can't do that so it really sucks to every once in a while see an ATVer out riding helmetless!

I suppose the Darwin awards still need winners.

 

Atv accidents are usually the fault of the rider, motorcycle accidents many times are the result of a car not seeing them and hitting them. And on a motorcylcle, you're always traveling at highway speeds so crashes generally result in serious injuries or death. Maybe a fairer comparison would be off road motorcycles and atvs. Then at least they are riding in the same conditions. A lot of those bike riders ride motocross style tracks though, almost a guaranteed way to eventually get hurt. You don't land a big jump perfectly and you're going to crash.

 

The studies I read on google were comparing off road motorcycles vs. ATVs, not street legal motorcycles. ATVs rolling over on people cause the most serious injuries whereas bikes tend to lay down and stop.