ATV accidents increase in the summertime and sometimes those accidents end in fatalities like the one that happened recently to a Cherokee County, Georgia child who was killed in Chattooga County on June 8th.

Besides that accident that claimed the life of a seven-year-old girl, there have been multiple ATV accidents with serious injuries involving children across the state since warmer weather this spring.  Two teenagers were killed in south Georgia this spring while on ATV’s.  Georgia law doesn’t ban children from riding ATV’s.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says most ATVs are designed for one rider. Riders younger than 16 should only drive age-appropriate youth model ATVs, and never adult ATVs. Off-road vehicles are designed to be driven only on off-road terrain, not paved surfaces. It also advises never to ride on public roads except to cross where permitted by law.

Over a three-year period, 66 people were killed on utility task vehicles (UTVs) and ATVs in Georgia.

The state requires drivers to be 16 or older only when operating those vehicles on open roads, but not on private property.