M.E.M.O.

It was a Friday night when I received the call:“Mom… what is it?” I asked.“Jordan… Megan’s dead, sh-she’s dead,” my mother said, with no tears behind her voice, just shock.“What do you mean she’s dead?” I asked, my voice higher than usual.“She was in Pungo with some friends on ATV’s and she hit a tree. That’s all we know right now,” my mom said, with the tears starting to show in her voice now.I just stood there, unable to shake the panic.“Mom?” I asked, “Was she wearing a helmet?”“No,” my mother said, regrettably, “she wasn’t.”

20 miles away and four hours later, a 7-year-old boy was watching the accident on the evening news. Megan had lost control of her ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) and struck a tree headfirst into the trunk—dying instantly. Officials did not know if a helmet would have prevented her death, but the boy went running into his kitchen, yelling for his dad.

“Dad! We need to go to the store and buy helmets now!” the boy screamed.

His family had bought ATVs earlier that day, and were not planning on purchasing helmets for another couple of weeks. After they learned of Megan’s tragedy, the boy and his father went out that night and bought new helmets. Two days later they met Megan’s family at her vigil and told their story.

In 2007 it was estimated that 816 deaths were caused by ATV accidents nationwide. Only 699 of those deaths were actually reported however 50 were from Virginia alone, according to atvsafety.gov. Head and spinal cord injuries caused majority of these deaths.

With these statistics available to us, it is amazing how many deaths are still not prevented—especially among the younger generations.

That same year it was reported that 124 people, under the age of 16, were killed in ATV-related accidents (40,000 were injuries). This is almost 18% out of the total number.

Because of the increase in childhood deaths, Dr. Chetan Shah and his colleagues at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock decided to collect data on ATV-related injuries (and deaths) over a span of ten years. They discovered that the majority of the injuries were caused due to a lack of safety measures being taken by the parents and the riders.

“Parents need to understand that ATVs are not toys. We tend to think short-term and believe that we’re giving children a toy or some kind of entertainment with an ATV. But, remember, a trip to the [emergency room] is in no way recreational,” said Dr. Shah.

The biggest mistake parents make is supplying their children with the wrong helmets or even not supplying them at all. The average ATV helmet lasts about five years and is designed to handle only one impact if an accident did occur. Many kids are given old or ill-fitting helmets that could easily fall off and make protection impossible. Each child should be fitted with their own personal helmet, and many child-sized ones come with bright colors or designs to add appeal. A proper helmet should cover the entire head to the base of the neck, and supply a face shield to protect vision. The helmet should also be approved by the Department of Transportation and carry their “DOT” sticker. This certification proves that the helmet can withstand a significant amount of impact pressure, while still protecting the wearer.

44 states, Virginia included, have adopted ATV safety laws, yet many parents and riders still do not follow them—and unfortunately face the repercussions.

“I think parents probably don’t have a real picture of the consequences and the injuries these machines can cause,” Dr. Shah said.

It is a shame that tragedies, such as Megan’s, are the lessons people learn in order to follow safety regulations and abstain from injuries or death. The severity of the issue does not come into focus until you are forced to face it. This does not have to be the case. If you are willing to spend thousands of dollars on an all terrain vehicle, what is another 50 dollars more on a proper helmet? Not the cost of a life.

I am, unfortunately, guilty of having to learn this lesson the hard way. Six months after Megan’s death, I found a hand-made bracelet with her initials braided in—M.E.M.O (Megan Elaine Madelyn Ottersten). It became something more to me than just a simple reminder of the friend I lost, but rather my reminder, or “memo” so to speak, to make the safe choices.

Don’t let a tragedy be your M.E.M.O.