LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
Off-road vehicle accidents send more than 100,000 people to the emergency room each year in the U.S., with an average of 500-700 lives lost annually. Many of these accidents involve youth, and many are preventable.
To emphasize the importance of safety, the Illinois Extension and a coalition of local partners hosted a Ride Right Rally at the Edgar County Fairgrounds on Thursday, May 14. The event served as a hands-on safety event designed to equip middle-grade students with the knowledge and skills to stay safe around ATVs, mowers, and other equipment.
“The Ride Right Rally is a safety like no other,” Brittany Smith, Edgar County 4-H Program Coordinator, said.
“Instead of focusing on traditional Agricultural safety, it focuses on using ATV, lawn mowers and Agricultural equipment safely,” Smith explained. “We focused on ATV, rollover and power take-off (PTO) stop the bleed, sun safety, mosquitoes and ticks, chemical look-alikes and even using a fire extinguisher.”
According to Smith, around three-quarters of the kids who attended the daytime event raised their hands when she asked the question, ‘Have you used an ATV or power equipment before?’
“They quickly raised their hands,” she said. “When they put their hands back down, I asked the next question. ‘Do you know the dangers of each of these pieces of equipment?’”
Smith was quick to share that the rally wasn’t meant to scare kids or tell them that they’re being unsafe.”
“It’s to give them the knowledge and the confidence to go out and use these pieces of equipment more responsibly, and come home to their families safe after each riding session,” Smith said.
In addition to six safety stations, where students learned about precautions they could take and safety features of equipment, students also witnessed a live drill.
The drill was a staged accident featuring an ATV accident and two live victims, played by PCHS FFA students. The scene was created by Paris Police Officer Chris Ray, and featured the combined support of the Edgar County Sheriff’s Department, Horizon Health EMS team and police department, who all “responded to the scene” following a staged 911 call.
“We really thank our First responders for helping us write home the message of how quickly things can change. After hearing of two local young men who were fatally killed in ATV accidents in the last two months that were in the same age range, I knew we were doing the right thing by getting in front of these kids now,” Smith said. “Wrapping up the day, we wanted to open kids’ eyes and slow them down … It was probably the first time in my three years of being in charge of kids that they were dead silent for the entire time.”
Because of the event’s success, Smith said they hope to reprise it and expand the number of students exposed to the unique experience.
“We hope to grow next year and offer more hands-on learning outside of a classroom,” Smith said. “We want kids to have fun, but we want them to make it home at night … I wish someone had told me these things as a kid; it might have saved me a few accidents.”