Article content

Alberta Health Services has an important message for anyone who rides all terrain vehicles: Keep kids off.

AHS is reminding Albertans of the dangers of ATVs before the May long weekend when they expect many people to head outdoors.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Health officials urge kids to stay off ATVs Back to video

“Younger children under 16 shouldn’t be operating ATVs simply because they don’t have the strength and skill and experience to be able to handle them,” said Dr. Richard Musto, the medical officer of heath for the Calgary zone. “There are ATVs that are marketed for…younger people, but the evidence still is that they can’t handle them.”

The Canadian Off-Highway Vehicles Distributors Council has standards for three different sizes of ATVs for children, but Dr. Musto said that even these smaller ATVS are “big, heavy machines.”

He said that the type of ATV riding often seen on TV commercials — bouncing over uneven ground off-road — is too dangerous for children because they don’t have the strength or skills to control the vehicle. He said AHS also recommends children don’t ride as passengers because “they’re at risk of being bounced off…or if the thing flips, and they are inherently unstable, [the child] can be crushed.”