Home » Automotive Articles » South Carolina Legislature Considers Enhanced ATV Safety Measures
South Carolina Legislature Considers Enhanced ATV Safety Measures
South Carolina legislators who seek to impose age limits, helmet requirements and mandatory safety training for ATV riders under 16, have been seeking passage of an ATV safety law since 2004.
April 01, 2011 /Automotive PR News/ -- Personal injuries to children are difficult to accept no matter how common the circumstances. Kids are the most frequent victims of dog bites, and they are particularly susceptible to serious injuries in car accidents and truck accidents if they are improperly secured by child safety seats or seat belts. But without the laws that make child restraints mandatory, the problem of infant and youth injuries and fatalities would be much worse.
South Carolina lawmakers have so far failed to act in another area of child safety where there is significant room for improvement. Fatalities resulting from children's use of ATVs have doubled in recent years, and a recent national study shows that accident rates for riders under 18 increased 150 percent from 1997 to 2006. Child safety advocates estimate that 450 South Carolina children are treated for ATV-related injuries every year, and brain injuries and spinal cord injuries are tragically frequent. Yet South Carolina is one of only six states nationwide that do not restrict ATV use by children.
ATV regulation named for 16-year-old Chandler Saylor, who died after sustaining a traumatic brain injury in a 2003 ATV accident, is once again before the South Carolina legislature. Its sponsors, who seek to impose age limits, helmet requirements and mandatory safety training for ATV riders under 16, have been seeking passage of this common sense legislation since 2004.
Chandler's Law was twice vetoed by former SC Governor Mark Sanford, but current Governor Nikki Haley has pledged to sign it. Yet some sensible aspects of the bill have been changed this session due to industry lobbying, including a reduction in the minimum age for riders from nine to six.
Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help Families Understand Their Legal Options
Advocacy groups such as Concerned Families for ATV Safety argue that children under 16 should not be allowed to ride ATVs on public land. Similar groups have succeeded in reforming state laws in the past, including the nationwide ban of three-wheeled ATVs in the 1980s that has saved lives and prevented untold numbers of debilitating injuries.
When negligent supervision, defective design or another rider's recklessness causes severe injury or death, personal injury or wrongful death litigation is often a family's most direct route to justice. Injury victims and surviving family members who consult with a South Carolina personal injury law firm can learn about recent legal developments and the likelihood of obtaining compensation via a civil lawsuit.
Article provided by Pierce, Herns, Sloan & McLeod, LLC
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