The image of Western cowboys herding cattle on horseback with their well-trained dogs may become a romantic visage of the past. Today, many ranchers are getting around on all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). AgAlert reporter Kathy Coatney wrote two articles on ATV use for the June 6 issue, one noting the increased popularity of ATVs among cattle ranchers and the other about growing ATV safety concerns. She sought comment from UC ANR experts for both. (AgAlert posts only selected stories on its Web site and these are not among them. They are only available in the newspaper.)
Coatney spoke to Glen Nader, the UC Cooperative Extension livestock advisor for Butte, Sutter and Yuba counties, who said ATVs can cover more country much faster than a horse -- without needing rest. They save both time and labor.
On the down side, ATVs sent 136,000 Americans to emergency rooms in 2004, according to statistics Coatney gave from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Coatney went to the director of the Western Center for Agriculltural Health and Safety at UC Davis, Mark Schenker, for comment.
"We certainly are seeing more injuries and fatalities," he was quoted in the article. "Those have been going up (in all ATV use). I think that's a red flag that attention is needed."
Schenker told the reporter he believes ATV riders should wear helmets.
"For head injuuries, helmets would reduce the risk (of injury) by 64 percent, and they reduce the risk of death by 42 percent. Those are pretty significant," Schenker is quoted.
