ATVs now top cause of recreation injuries in Edmonton

Edmonton doctors says that all-terrain vehicles are now the No. 1 cause of sport- or recreation-related traumatic injuries in Alberta — and a startling number of victims are teens and children.

Capital Health says there were 228 visits to emergency rooms over the past year by patients who were 19 years old or younger that were related to all-terrain vehicle use.

That's 43 more cases than the region had the previous year, and 91 more cases than it had two years ago.

Dr. Bill Sevcik, an emergency room physician, says kids under 16 shouldn't be driving the recreational vehicles because of the kinds of injuries they can cause.

He says young people just don't have the judgment, experience, cognitive skills or mental or physical maturity to handle such machines.

In 2006, there were 22 deaths in Alberta related to all-terrain vehicle use, and six of the victims were under the age of 18.