Presenter Profile
Christopher Monson, MD
Pediatric Critical Care Fellow
University of Iowa, Stead Family Children's Hospital
University of Iowa, Stead Family Children's Hospital
Christopher Monson is a third year pediatric critical care fellow at the University of Iowa. He grew up in Santa Barbara, CA where he stayed for his undergraduate degree at UCSB before bouncing around the country to New York, Michigan, and now Iowa for medical training. His non-clinical interest is in advocacy and he has held several leadership positions at the state and national level for the American Academy of Pediatrics. Christopher hopes to build on his fellowship research in his career by doing research to support evidence-based public policy.
Presentations
The Association Between County Ordinances Allowing Off-Road Vehicles on Public Roads and Crash Rates
Christopher Monson, MD
Priyanka Vakkalanka, PhD
Gerene Denning, PhD
Nicholas Stange, BS
Charles Jennissen, MD
Part of session:
Background:
Off-road vehicles (ORVs) account for over 700 deaths and more than 100,000 emergency department visits annually – of which children < 16 years in recent years account for 13% and 27%, respectively. ORVs include all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and side-by-side vehicles which are often generally referred to as utility task vehicles (UTVs). Legislative bodies across the country have increasingly allowed ATVs/UTVs on public roads, an environment for which they are not designed. In 2009, the Iowa state legislature gave individual counties the discretion to pass ordinances allowing ATVs/UTVs on roadways. This study investigates whether such ordinances are associated with increases in ORV crash rates, especially on public roads.
Methods:
A statewide ORV crash database including records from the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT), Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and State Trauma Registry (STR) from 2002-2018 was used for the study (3,426 unique crashes with 3,068 ATV crashes and 222 UTV crashes). Crashes for which county location could not be determined were excluded. Investigators compiled an ATV/UTV roadway ordinance database for all 99 Iowa counties. Using a zero-inflated time count series, correcting for background crash frequency trends and population, investigators compared the relative rates of crashes after ordinance passage to timepoints before ordinance implementation and to counties without such ordinances. Sub-analyses focused on more recent years (2008-2018) were also performed.
Results:
Forty-nine county ORV ordinances went into effect by 2018 (72 of Iowa’s 99 counties by 2021). 2,346 crashes (69%) met inclusion criteria. Adjusted for year, there was a nearly 60% greater ORV crash rate in counties after passing an ORV roadway ordinance as compared to counties without ordinances (incidence rate ratio (IRR) 1.58, 95% CI 1.32-1.90). Roadway crashes (n=834) were almost 50% higher after ordinance passage (IRR 1.48, 95% CI 1.14-1.94). This roadway crash association remained statistically significant when analysis was limited to the years 2008-2018 (IRR 1.39, CI 1.06-1.83, n=544); to ATV crashes only (IRR 1.70, CI 1.20-2.40, n=683); and to ATV crashes excluding counties with UTV-only ordinances (IRR 1.79, CI 1.25-2.57, n=638).
Conclusions:
ORV crashes increased significantly after implementation of county ordinances allowing ATVs/UTVs on public roadways and when compared to counties without such ordinances. There were many roadway ORV crashes noted both before county ordinance passage and in counties where usage remained illegal suggesting inadequate enforcement of ORV roadway restrictions. Despite this, our study demonstrated that passage of laws allowing and expanding ATV/UTV access to public roads increases the number of crashes, likely leading to more deaths and injuries including among youth. Results from this study may help inform policymakers as they consider legislation regarding ATV/UTV usage on public roads.
Objectives:
1. Participants will be able to list three design characteristics that make all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) at increased risk for loss of control and rash on public roads.2. They will be able to describe whether there was an association with having passed a county ordinance allowing ATVs and other off-road vehicles on public roads and crash rates.
3. Attendees will be able to state what the ATV manufacturers’ policy is regarding ATVs on public road.