Widespread use of all-terrain vehicles in Alaska associated with high injury and death rates
- Alaska Beacon
- 19 minutes ago
- 3 min read
By Yereth Rosen
Alaska Beacon
All-terrain vehicles are ubiquitous in Alaska, especially in rural areas, where they make up a key mode of transportation.
That heavy use, often on uneven terrain, leads to high numbers of injuries and deaths from ATV accidents, according to state health officials. In recent years, Alaska’s ATV-related fatality rate has been four times the national average.
The Alaska Division of Public Health’s epidemiology section released a bulletin Tuesday detailing that toll.
From 2019 to 2024, Alaska’s rate of ATV-related fatalities was quadruple the U.S. rate — 1.6 per 100,000 people in Alaska, versus 0.4 deaths per 100,000 people nationally.
During that period, the state recorded 4,421 ATV-related visits to hospital emergency departments. Seventeen percent of those cases involved traumatic brain injury, 40% involved breaks to bones other than the skull and 17% involved lacerations. Some patients had multiple types of injuries, the bulletin said.
Children were frequent victims of ATV accidents; 30% of the recorded emergency department vehicles for ATV-related injuries were among patients under 18 years of age, according to the bulletin.
Children and adolescents accounted for 15% of the state’s 71 ATV-related deaths recorded in the study years, the bulletin said.
Northern and Southwestern Alaska had the highest rates of ATV-related injuries requiring emergency department treatment, followed by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. Such injuries were most likely to occur in the summer and late spring months, according to the statistics presented in the bulletin.
The statistics analyzed in the bulletin concern four- or three-wheeled ATVs, utility terrain vehicles and multi-passenger vehicles known as “side-by-sides.” They do not include snowmachines or motorcycles. And they do not include injuries that went untreated at any emergency department, the bulletin notes.
With so many young people at risk, operators of the vehicles should take care to abide by several precautions, the bulletin said. Riders should use helmets, follow speed limits and avoid intoxicants, and vehicles should not carry more passengers than their stated capacities, the bulletin said.
State agencies, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Southcentral Foundation and other organizations like Alaska Safe Rider have tried to improve ATV safety.
According to the Division of Motor Vehicles, ATVs used on public roadways must be registered, and people driving them must be licensed. But those rules and others, including one requiring passengers to wear helmets, are often ignored. The Alaska State Troopers have at times reminded residents of laws concerning ATV use.
The troopers’ public education campaign is ongoing.
“State law prohibits operating a vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicating substance whether you are on or offroad. We also strongly encourage riders to follow all safety guidelines — this includes ensuring that equipment such as headlights, taillights, and brakes are in proper working order. Wearing a helmet and other protective gear, including goggles, gloves, long pants, and over‑the‑ankle boots, is also highly recommended,” trooper spokesperson John Dougherty said by email.
Some municipalities have ordinances governing ATV use that are stricter than state law, he noted.
Safety has also been promoted by gubernatorial proclamation. Over the past few years, July has been designated as ATV/Off-Highway Vehicle Safety Awareness Month.
• Yereth Rosen came to Alaska in 1987 to work for the Anchorage Times. She has been reporting on Alaska news ever since, covering stories ranging from oil spills to sled-dog races. She has reported for Reuters, for the Alaska Dispatch News, for Arctic Today and for other organizations. Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
