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Abstract
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In the past, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) were used in Israel exclusively for agricultural work, such that to purchase an ATV one had to offer proof that one worked in agriculture. This is no longer the case (1). The uses of these vehicles in Israel have expanded to include sports and leisure. According to researchers from the Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research, approximately 680 ATVs or Quad bikes are sold annually in Israel, of which 12% are used for sports, 32% are used to train beginners, and 56% are used for leisure (1). Moreover, most of the injuries involving ATVs/Quad bikes in Israel occur in the context of leisure and sports activities, and not as part of agricultural work (1).
In what follows, we will inter alia offer data on how the level of ATV-related injury varies as a function of demographic variables, including ethnic background. Demographically, as of 2022, Israel's citizenry is comprised of 9.523 million people, of whom 7.069 million are of Jewish descent, 2.026 million were of Arab indigenous descent, and 498,000 identify as neither (2). In 2020, 3.049 million children (aged 0-17) lived in Israel, of whom 2.207 million were of Jewish descent (72.4%), and 737,000 were of Arab descent (24.2%) (3). An additional 105,000 children (3.4%) were classified as "others".
The legal and regulatory situation in Israel, as regards children's use of ATVs, is ambiguous. Most notably, because many ATVs are defined as toys under the law (4-6). On the one hand, Israeli laws prohibit adolescents younger than 16 from driving motorized ATVs (7) [articles 188 and 179 (8)]. These laws also require that the prospective driver possesses at least a minimal driving license (in Israel, a tractor license is considered to be the most basic for a motorized vehicle) (9). Moreover, Israeli law proscribes driving motorized ATVs in terrains defined as 'roads' by the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety, with the exception of roads enclosed in agricultural villages such as Kibbutzim (9). On the other hand, there are ambiguities in the laws pertaining to the use of electric ATVs by children and adolescents in Israel. The Standards Institution of Israel does not propose relevant standards for children's vehicles traveling at speeds exceeding 8 kph (kilometers per hour), including ATVs (4). Notwithstanding the noted regulatory ambiguity, the popularity of ATV usage is widespread in Israel (5). The number of ATVs in Israel is estimated in the thousands. According to news reports, 4,579 ATVs were sold in the year 2020 in Israel, 800 more than in 2019 (10)--these are dramatically higher figures than the approximate figures cited above, albeit for a slightly earlier period...
Language: en |