A person rides an ATV. (Provided photo — Dave Werner)

An amendment to a bill regarding the minimum age for operation of an All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) was approved in October 2023, according to a memo from the New York state Assembly. The bill amends Section 2409(2) of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law (VTL) to change the age of completing an ATV safety course and earning an ATV safety certificate from 10 years of age to 14.

The bill also amends Section 2410 to eliminate the possibility of a 16-year-old with an ATV safety certificate supervising a minor operating an ATV and to change the age of legal operation of an ATV by a minor from 10 years of age to 14, except upon lands owned or leased by his or her parent or guardian.

Recent serious crashes have highlighted the need to enact this legislation. In the U.S. more than 24,000 children under the age of 16 are injured in ATV-related crashes each year. Although 30% of ATV-related injuries and 13% of deaths involve minors, their hospitalization rates are 30% higher than for adults. Traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of death for children under 16 involved in fatal ATV crashes, with children under six years being at highest risk.

ATVs, depending on the model, can weigh 600 pounds or more, and reach speeds exceeding 70 mph. Machines of this size and speed are not suitable for young children to operate. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, operating ATVs is especially dangerous for young children, given their smaller size and relative immaturity.

The pediatrics academy emphasized that children are “not developmentally capable of operating these heavy, complex machines.”

The New York state legislation amends the VTL and makes several changes to promote greater ATV safety and to prevent tragedies involving minors.

First, the allowable age to receive an ATV safety certificate will be raised from 10 years to 14 years or older. Currently, children as young as 10 are permitted to earn an ATV safety certificate from the Department of Motor Vehicles by taking an approved safety course.

Next, children under 16 will only be allowed to operate an ATV on land not owned by their parent of guardian, as permitted by section 2403 of the VTL, if they are supervised by someone 18 years or older. They will no longer be permitted to be supervised in the alternative by someone over 16 who holds an ATV safety certificate.

In addition, the bill raises to 14 years old (from the current 10) the age at which a minor who has received a safety certificate may operate an ATV in the same manner as someone who is 16 or older, meaning without supervision and on any area of land that is permissible for those 16 and older.

The amendment will become law Feb. 22.