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Muhlenberg Co. 4-Hers are learning how to
safely ride ATVs.
“We will hopefully see more of the youth using the correct equipment, the
safety gear and riding on the right size machine, not carrying passengers or
riding on the roadway, and handling the machines appropriately."
Tommy Harrision
UK Extension Agent for 4-H Youth Development in Muhlenberg Co.
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By Laura Skillman
DAWSON SPRINGS, Ky., (Oct. 19, 2005) – Kentucky is among the top 10 states in
all-terrain vehicle-related deaths, according to a recent Consumer Product
Safety Commission report. But Muhlenberg County 4-H is hoping to stem the tide.
A committee of youth and adults in the county received a $7,000 national 4-H
grant to provide an ATV safety program for fourth- through seventh-grade 4-Hers.
They also hope to interest other 4-H programs across the state in pursuing the
grant and teaching young people how to safely ride these vehicles.
“We have a lot of kids in our community that have been hurt, and we have also
lost a bunch of kids in the last few years,” said Linda Travis, who along with
her husband Roger volunteered to partner with the youth and traveled to
Washington, D.C., to undergo the necessary training. “We thought if we worked
with this and get them interested in it and if we can just save one life it will
be worth it all.”
Roger Travis said they became interested to help their grandchildren but wanted
to help the entire county and state as well.
“We also want to tell other county agents how we got the grant, and maybe they
will want to work with us to help get the death rate down in the state of
Kentucky,” he said.
The 2004 CPSC annual report on ATV-related deaths and injuries, released in
September, ranks Kentucky tops in deaths from 2002 through 2004 with 106 deaths.
The report notes that data for these years is incomplete. However, more complete
data from 1982 through 2001 ranks Kentucky at ninth with 182 ATV-related deaths.
Tommy Harrison, Muhlenberg County Extension agent for 4-H youth development,
said two youths in Muhlenberg County have died in recent years in ATV accidents.
“There’s a tremendous number of youth riding four-wheelers in Muhlenberg
County,” he said. “National 4-H has developed an ATV Adventures curriculum, and
we are piloting that curriculum. We definitely had a need for the program, plus
youth-adult partnering was a major part of the grant and we do a lot of that.”
4-H teens Zeke Walters and Mackenzie Whitaker are two of the youth who helped
teach the ATV safety program at the two-day camp.
“I’m active in 4-H, and Tommy (Harrison) told us about the project and that it
was a group effort and teens were needed to get involved with it, and I wanted
to help out my community,” Whitaker said.
Walters is also involved in the teen club, plus he rides ATVs, so the ATV camp
and safety program appealed to him.
“I know people that have gotten hurt, and I want to help the younger ones not to
do the stupid stuff on the four-wheelers. So I thought this might help them
out,” he said. “I think it is better to start them now than wait until our age
because I’ve ridden since I was young and it is going to be hard to change my
habits.”
The Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Farm and Home Safety Program conducted
the driving course for the camp. The agency has previously conducted hands-on
driver training at to other locations, but participants there were ages 16 and
older, said Dale Dobson, KDA farm safety administrator.
Dobson said this agency has been working for the past two years to develop an
ATV safety riding program for the state of Kentucky through 4-H and FFA. The
Muhlenberg County camp was a chance to work with younger children.
“Coming here today gives us a chance to work with some good young people who
have spent the past day doing nothing but learning ATV safety, and that is
evident today with them riding the course and seeing their skills,” he said.
“This is the first time we’ve done a hands-on ride with a group this young and
I’m amazed at what they are doing. They are really following directions and
taking orders and doing a good job.”
The camp, held at the West Kentucky 4-H Camp, included five hours of mostly
experiential, hands-on classes followed by the driving course. The camp was open
to any 4-H member who owns an ATV, Harrison said. Age-appropriate ATVs were
provided for the driving segment; youth were not allowed to bring their own. A
post-test was given at the end of camp and a follow-up test will be given in six
months.
“We will hopefully see more of the youth using the correct equipment, the safety
gear and riding on the right size machine, not carrying passengers or riding on
the roadway, and handling the machines appropriately,” he said.
Writer: Laura Skillman
270-365-7541 ext. 278
Contact: Tommy Harrison,
270-338-3124
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