Citation

Bernard AC, Mullineaux DR, Auxier JT, Forman JL, Shapiro R, Pienkowski D. Accid. Anal. Prev. 2010; 42(4): 1220-1225.

Affiliation

Trauma Program, Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536-0293, USA. acbern00@uky.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.aap.2010.01.015

PMID

20441835

Abstract

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: This study sought to establish objective anthropometric measures of fit or misfit for young riders on adult and youth-sized all-terrain vehicles and use these metrics to test the unproved historical reasoning that age alone is a sufficient measure of rider-ATV fit. METHODS: Male children (6-11 years, n=8; and 12-15 years, n=11) were selected by convenience sampling. Rider-ATV fit was quantified by five measures adapted from published recommendations: (1) standing-seat clearance, (2) hand size, (3) foot vs. foot-brake position, (4) elbow angle, and (5) handlebar-to-knee distance. RESULTS: Youths aged 12-15 years fit the adult-sized ATV better than the ATV Safety Institute recommended age-appropriate youth model (63% of subjects fit all 5 measures on adult-sized ATV vs. 20% on youth-sized ATV). Youths aged 6-11 years fit poorly on ATVs of both sizes (0% fit all 5 parameters on the adult-sized ATV vs 12% on the youth-sized ATV). CONCLUSIONS: The ATV Safety Institute recommends rider-ATV fit according to age and engine displacement, but no objective data linking age or anthropometrics with ATV engine or frame size has been previously published. Age alone is a poor predictor of rider-ATV fit; the five metrics used offer an improvement compared to current recommendations.

Language: en