Parent's P.A.R.T.Y.
Social and Demographic Factors
The people talked in great depth about social and demographic factors contributing to these injuries. Common themes that emerged were high disposable income, media, and cultural features all playing their own and synergistic roles in the problem. In general, participants felt that risk-tolerance was inflated as part of a hubristic and emulous culture arising from the combination of normal youth risk-taking, high disposable income, lack of knowledge about risks, physical geography, and even the high male to female ratio in our local area. Below are some inputs that our community had on these topics, including insights and relevant personal stories that can help us understand the problem of ATV and snowmobile injuries in youth. In terms of what to do about these factors, the groups suggested strategies to support accountability, such as setting up local ATV clubs, along with increasing general awareness and providing training.Go back to the main Discussion page to see related comments on alcohol, parenting, speed, etc.
- Always obey the laws.
- Fatigue: limit ride, distance in order to make it back safely.
- I believe that all parents would approve of this. No one wants to go to the grave site to visit their child.
- Make better choices.
- More common sport vs other communities; more money; do not ruin a great pastime because of the few immature and idiot drivers!
- Personally I think that people need to take responsibility in making ATV’s more safe, but the first step is with us the riders...
- Stop, think, before you act.
- We all can do our part with family and friends to share stats. Lead by example.
- We had a group of about 12 friends; we all agreed on the rules and enforced each other's positive choices.
- Young people are less mechanically inclined in our current society; have more experience with video games than real life; consequences are nonexistent.
- Money is the cause for more accidents in the area; you break the quad or snowmobile, and you can just buy another one.
- 24-25 year olds are now making more money that is expendable so they don't respect their property, pushing limits and buying more powerful ATVs and snowmobiles.
- Aspen region in my opinion has a high rate of injuries due to the wealth in the region. First time riders that can afford large hp machines will buy them just because they can and friends have them.
- Boys are more extreme.
- Don’t ban quads for kids, just have responsible ownership and operation of these quads.
- Famous last words - Watch this Boys! (Bragging is one of the biggest factors creating these injuries)
- Money is the cause for more accidents in the area - you break the quad or snowmobile, and you can just buy another one.
- More income from oil patch takes out the consequence of damaging the ATV. We can afford to buy a new one or repair easily.
- Our region has more money (bigger pay jobs); they have lots of money to buy more powerful machines and don't care if they wreck them because they have more money to fix them or replace them.
- Parents of youth have the money to buy the toys that they let their kids use freely.
- Personal risk acceptance is higher.
- Redneck attitude towards drivers on road. Not understanding stopping distance of drivers on road. Riders figure they're just another truck on the road.
- Redneck attitudes.
- We are 3 times more likely to get killed or injured on ATV's than the rest of Alberta due to our redneck attitude.
- Younger guys buying the bigger faster skidoos because they can.
- ATV association
- Go out in groups so that if something happens you have backup to help you.
- Joining an organization encourages people to police each other and promotes safety.
- Need ATV associations.
- No ATV organizations or associations to help educate. Snowmobiles have the ASA (Alberta Snowmobile Association) and local clubs to assist with education/local structure/and working to make riding safer.
- Organize a local ATV riding club that operates under a code of ethics.
- Should be ATV associations.
- The fact that different organizations have the same goal -- we need to lobby to educate peoople and have regulations followed.
- A youth borrows his parents' ATVs then gets to work in the oil patch and buys his own performance ATV.
- Aspen region in my opinion has a high rate of injuries due to the wealth in the region. First time riders that can afford large hp machines will buy them just because they can and friends have them.
- Cultural/generational paradigm shift from farm kids learning tractors/trucks/quads to video games and computers simulations.
- More people can afford ATV's now, especially in AB. Parents have less time to go with the kids on ATVs.
- Parents purchase ATV’s for their kids and use them as gas powered baby sitters. Now the kids are out of their hair and they can do whatever they want without the kids bugging them or being bored. This is a very big problem in Ardmore. Laws are not enforced. Kids under age of 16 are riding ATV’s alone, lots of times in town. No tickets are being handed out to parents.
- Quadding is a lifestyle in this area.
- The promotion by the media.
- TV commercials should be showing more injuries and the outcome of an accident instead of having fun. This is what the kids are watching and getting ideas from.
- Young males see high risk takers on T.V.
- 20-24 youths are making more money and can afford to buy the toys (sleds and quads and vehicles)
- AB has a hot economy, lots of extra income=more ATV purchases.
- ATV deaths up in Aspen more than Alberta? Maybe due to emergency response times? Income level?
- Due to the burgeoning economy, individuals have more disposable income to purchase ATVs.”
- Larger disposable income
- More money in our community.
- Why are 20-24 year old males injury rate so high? Lots of good jobs, high pay, disposable income=lots of toys.
- Youth working locally in the oil patch have very large disposable income.
- Increased accidents due to increased income plus better terrain
- More ATV terrain, more people riding in Aspen area.
- Ratio of ATVs in this area compared to rest of Canada.
- Some of the stats say that in Alberta we have a higher percentage of injuries, and we also have a higher percentage of ATV’s per household.
- From the age of 22 to 35, I owned an ATV; throughout those years I had 3 close calls. I had a bad shoulder injury-to this day I am lucky I didn’t break my neck and possibly become paralyzed-and one roll-over (no alcohol involved in those two). But the last one I had made me change my ways. I was quadding and drinking with people, going through the bush, going over small trees. My quad raised up the front end, and I flipped over falling back, striking my head against the quad behind me, resulting in 8 stitches. I was knocked out, but I could have died. I decided to sell my ATV and I now own horses.
- He was in an ATV accident late at night. He was leading his group of friends in a ditch and had turned around for 1 second to see where his friends were behind him. His lights were of course only lighting up a couple of feet in front of him. When he turned back it was too late and he struck a culvert. He was thrown off his racing quad into the other side of the approach and his helmet flew off! Big scrape on head and pins in his wrist (couple days in Edmonton). Maybe there should be some kind of rule/legislation regarding driving ATV’s/ snowmobiles at night. He is still a very active quadder/snowmobiler. He goes to the mountains a couple times per year. I think he’s just that much more aware now. It could have been a lot worse…
- Last couple years ago during a hot summer, he was riding a motorised tricycle. He wasn’t drinking, not under the influence of drugs, just riding on a nice plus 34 day, and he was traveling to my place through the back trail behind his house. He was cruising at 80 km/h and he hit a big hole that was covered by tall grass in the ground. He hit it hard and flipped the tricycle; while the tricycle flipped in the air, he flew off it and hit a big tree stump that was sitting off the trail. When he came to, he couldn’t move so he started shouting for help. His sister followed his cry for help and when she found him laying beside the stump, she saw that he had broken his arm and also his collar bone. She rushed him to the hospital where he was taken care of. Over the next month and a half he rested and healed from his injuries. When he was healed he got back on the tricycle and started riding again. A couple days after he was all better, he was riding on the gravel road, stunting and showing off. He was travelling at between 80-90 km/h and he decided to try a 180 degree turn on the dirt road when he tilted the tricycle and it fell on top of him; we rushed to pull the tricycle off him and when we did he had sprained his wrist and his ankle along with a huge bruise on his leg and arm. After he recovered from those he stopped riding up to this date.