Alaska ATV fatality rate four times national average, bulletin says

On the North Slope, an ATV is not a toy. It is a workhorse for hauling people, fuel and supplies, which is why a new state bulletin lands hard in communities that depend on them every day: Alaska’s ATV fatality rate from 2019 through 2024 was 1.6 deaths per 100,000 people, four times the national rate of 0.4.

The state Division of Public Health’s Section of Epidemiology counted 4,421 ATV-related emergency department visits statewide over that period, along with 71 deaths. Children and passengers were hit especially hard. Forty-three percent of patients were riding as passengers, and 11 of the fatalities were children age 17 or younger. The highest injury rates were among children ages 12 to 15, followed by teens 16 to 17 and young adults 18 to 24.

The injuries were severe. Fractures outside the skull accounted for 40% of ATV-related emergency department visits, while traumatic brain injuries and lacerations each made up 17%. The bulletin said the Northern region had the highest ATV-related emergency visit rate, a troubling sign for places such as the North Slope Borough, the Northwest Arctic Borough and the Nome Census Area, where rough terrain and long distances make safe travel especially important.

The risks rose in the months when many Alaskans are moving more, not less. ATV-related emergency visits were highest from April through September, when seasonal work, subsistence travel and outdoor hauling peak across rural Alaska. The bulletin said ATVs are a vital mode of transportation in the state, supporting work, subsistence activities, recreation and travel.

State guidance points to the simplest ways to cut the toll: wear a helmet, obey speed limits, never drive under the influence and never carry more passengers than the vehicle is built to carry. The Division of Motor Vehicles says ATVs and other off-highway vehicles may be registered but are not titled, and if they are driven on public property they must be registered. The governor’s ATV safety awareness proclamation in July 2023 also highlighted education programs from Alaska Safe Riders and the ATV Safety Institute.

That matters in Alaska because head injuries already hit the state hard. The governor’s proclamation said Alaska has the nation’s highest rate of deaths by traumatic brain injury, which makes helmet use more than a suggestion in rural places where the nearest advanced care is rarely close at hand.