The Ontario Medical Association wants children under 14 to be banned from operating all-terrain vehicles.
ATV use is growing rapidly in Southwestern Ontario including Grey, Bruce, Huron, Perth and Simcoe counties.
The association says not only should there be a ban for those under 14, those aged 14 to 16 should only be allowed to ride A-T-V’s that cannot exceed 30 kilometres an hour.
OMA President Doctor Suzanne Strasberg tells Bayshore Broadcasting news there are five recommendations in total in their report this month.
The OMA wants to make helmuts mandatory for all ATV riders.
The report calls for those aged 14 to 18 who want to operate an A-T-V to have a special learner’s permit — and that any such legislation apply to both public and private property.
Doctor Strasberg says in Ontario, there were 661 hospitalizations in 2007-2008 due to ATV-related injuries, and 69 per cent of children and youth hospitalized for ATV-related injuries were age 16 or younger.
The President of the OMA says many teens are riding ATV’s that are designed for adults and they don’t have the ability to handle those machines.