ATV and Quad Biking

Is quad biking safe?

For an average ride, the risk of death is small but not trivial: roughly 0.4 to 1 micromortMicromortA one-in-a-million chance of death. It lets you compare the risk of very different activities on one scale.More in the glossary, similar to a ride on a horse. The catch is that ATVs kill more people than that average suggests, because so many people ride them so often, and the risk is concentrated in a few habits. Riding on roads, carrying passengers, skipping the helmet and putting children on adult-size machines account for a large share of the deaths.

In the US, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) counted 1,728 deaths on ATVs in 2019–2021, about 580 a year, plus 849 on side-by-side utility and recreational vehicles. About 102,000 people a year went to emergency rooms after off-road vehicle crashes in 2019–2023.

How we worked out the risk per ride

No one counts ATV rides. The CPSC's last national exposure survey, in 2001, estimated 22.9 million riders and about 2.6 billion riding hours a year, roughly 110 hours per rider. Set today's deaths against those hours and the risk comes out at about 0.2 to 0.35 micromortsMicromortA one-in-a-million chance of death. It lets you compare the risk of very different activities on one scale.More in the glossary per riding hour, depending on whether you use CPSC's case counts or the higher death-certificate totals.

A typical 2- to 3-hour ride therefore carries about 0.4 to 1 micromort. Treat that as a rough guide. The survey hours include slow farm and yard work, and a fast trail ride or a rented quad on a tourist road is riskier than the average hour. Per hour, everyday motorcycling on public roads is many times more dangerous.

How ATV crashes kill

ATVs are top-heavy, have a solid rear axle and steer by the rider shifting weight. Turn too sharply at speed, hit a bump or climb a slope at an angle, and the machine can roll onto the rider. CPSC's review of fatal ATV crashes found the vehicle overturned in at least 65% of them. Collisions were the main hazard in about 37%: trees, guard rails and mailboxes in more than 60% of those, other vehicles in more than 30%.

The injury pattern is similar. In a 2023 CPSC follow-up of emergency room cases, the vehicle overturned in 63% of injuries and the victim was thrown off in 78%. Most of these crashes happened on flat, dry ground, not steep hills. Only 29% of the injured said they wore a helmet. Fractures (29%), bruises and scrapes (18%) and internal injuries (15%) were the main diagnoses, and the head and neck was the injured area in 34% of cases. One in five patients was admitted to hospital.

Deaths skew older than you might expect. Riders aged 55 and over made up 30% of off-road vehicle deaths in 2019–2021, and 81% of the dead were male.

Children on ATVs

Children under 16 made up 13% of US off-road vehicle deaths in 2019–2021 (342 deaths) and about 27% of emergency room injuries. In the 2001 survey, riders under 16 had about 58 injuries per million riding hours against 37 for older riders.

A study of child ATV deaths from 1985 to 2009 found that 95% happened on adult-size machines. Children under 6 who died were mostly passengers. Among older teenagers, 72% of deaths happened on roads and 19% of crashes involved alcohol. Helmets cut the chance of a head injury among children killed in crashes by 58%.

Quad bikes on holiday

Renting a quad is a classic holiday activity on Greek islands, in Turkish resorts and on desert tours in Egypt and Dubai, and the official advice is blunt. The UK Foreign Office says people are seriously injured or killed in quad bike accidents in Greece every year, that riders share roads with larger, faster traffic, and that quad biking counts as an extreme sport excluded by many insurance policies. It flags serious quad accidents in Egyptian resorts too.

A Dubai ambulance study of 226 desert quad crashes found older tourists and expatriates mostly had milder rollover injuries in daytime, while young local riders had severe head and spine injuries from night-time rollovers. In two of the three groups, one in five riders waited more than 6 hours before calling for help.

How to ride an ATV more safely

1. Wear a helmet every time, plus eye protection, gloves, long sleeves and boots.
2. Do not carry passengers on a single-seat ATV; a passenger shifts the weight and makes rollovers more likely.
3. Stay off paved roads. ATV tyres and solid axles handle poorly on tarmac, and roads add cars.
4. Match the machine to the rider. Children under 16 should not drive adult-size ATVs.
5. Take a hands-on course, such as the ATV Safety Institute's RiderCourse in the US.
6. Never ride after drinking, and slow down before turns and on slopes.
7. On holiday, choose a guided tour on off-road tracks, check that your insurance names quad biking, and wear the helmet even where locals do not.

How we scored it

Fatality risk (84) sits at the edge of our 0.1 to 1 micromortMicromortA one-in-a-million chance of death. It lets you compare the risk of very different activities on one scale.More in the glossary band per ride, held back by the old exposure data. Injury risk (50) reflects the large number of fractures and head injuries. Controllability (60) gives credit to helmets, no passengers and staying off roads, but rollovers happen even on flat ground. Rescue and environment (65) reflects remote, often solo riding. Compare mountain biking and horse riding.