ATV Accident Death and Injury Statistics – Montana

The ATV is an off-road recreational vehicle that isn’t necessarily built for use on paved surfaces. Still, more and more states are observing people driving ATVs everywhere, which contributes to an increased risk of accidents.

Based on annual statistics, Montana is one of the places in the US that have the highest rate of ATV crashes and fatalities. Almost 90 percent of the people who die in such accidents are men, and a third of the fatal crashes involve individuals under the age of 17.

ATV Fatality and Serious Injury Statistics for Montana

As far as crashed on paved roads are concerned, Montana has one of the highest rates in the country. In the period from 2012 to 2014, there were 14 fatalities. In 2014 alone, seven ATV accidents had a fatal outcome.

In the period from 1982 to 2009, Montana has had 87 deaths caused by ATVs. The number of fatal crashes from 2010 to 2013 was 28, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports.

Some of the most common serious injuries that people sustain after an ATV crash include traumatic brain injuries, fractures, internal organ injuries and spinal cord injuries. A bigger problem arises from the fact that numerous crashes occur in remote areas. Injured individuals will be in need of emergency assistance, but they’ll often have to wait for a long period of time until the overturned vehicle is discovered and an ambulance arrives.

Examples of Serious ATV Crashes in Montana

There haven’t been numerous accounts of fires or ATV explosions in Montana.

One such accident occurred in June 2017. An ATV caught on fire spontaneously while in the garage of its owner in Butte-Silver Bow, Montana. Firefighters couldn’t find an external source of the fire, and the conclusion was that a spontaneous combustion could have occurred as a result of an electrical issue.

While fires and explosions aren’t that common, roll-overs do occur much more frequently. In some instances, experts believe that a faulty design is to blame because it makes all-terrain vehicles likely to lose their stability at high speeds.

In May 2017, a 47-year-old man died following an ATV crash. The Sanders County accident possibly involved a loss of control. The Yamaha ATV went off the road and crashed into a tree. The man was ejected from the vehicle, and he landed in a nearby ditch.

At the end of June 2017, a Lakeside ATV accident took the life of another driver. Trying to make a curve, the man had his Honda going off the road and rolling over. Alcohol consumption is the suspected cause of the fatal accident.