There around 1500 deaths every year in the United States due to ATV accidents. Kentucky is the fourth highest state for ATV related deaths in the country. Calloway county is a farming community and there is a lot of ATV use in our area. For these reasons, Calloway 4-H partnered with our local conservation district to supply ATV safety instruction to all 187 10th graders in our county high school. 

Almost all participants had ridden on and ATV at some point in their life; many had ridden without a helmet or double on an ATV. Participants discussed KY ATV laws, ATV fit for your individual size and age, equipment and gear that should be used, riding positions, signaling, and rules to operating an ATV. A local business donated the use of a used ATV for the lesson and participants were able to sit on it to see how that ATV fit them. They also examined the ATV for any known faults, which included a few missing lug nuts. 

Most students were shocked to learn that they should never ride double on an ATV and that they did not know the majority of hand signals they should use when riding in a group. They also had no knowledge on current ATV laws in KY.  Overall, participants left the lesson having more researched based instruction on ATV safety and how to keep themselves and others safe while riding.