ATV & UTV Safety Tips
Use UTVs and ATVs Safely Around the Homestead.
Reading Time: 5 minutes
Obtain ATV and UTV safety tips directly from an ATV safety course instructor to ensure safety measures in using farm tools and equipment.
by Kenny Coogan
All-terrain vehicles (ATV) and utility task vehicles (UTV) are perfect for many tasks on and around the homestead. They can be used to check fences and livestock, apply pesticides, herbicides, or water to crops, spread seed, salt, and rocks, and depending on where you live, they can also be used to get to the local mall or shops. They’re often used to drive between farms and buildings, deliver meals to field workers, and, of course, they have a huge recreational aspect. Many people use them for camping, hunting, riding, racing, plowing, and winching. In addition to being fun and fast, they can be potentially fatal. Regardless of whether you have paid employees or they’re solely for family use, safety needs to be a priority for these vehicles.
“I think the health and safety of ATVs and UTVs can probably be viewed as boring,” Carolyn Sheridan says. She starts her classes by asking the students to share a story about these vehicles. “In every single class that we have, traditionally, one-third to two-thirds of the students admit to rolling their vehicle. It’s just staggering, absolutely staggering.”
Sheridan is the executive director and founder of Ag Health & Safety Alliance. Her company has taught in all seven Canadian provinces and several U.S. states, and they have programs in Australia, Denmark, and Sweden. One of their offerings is called “Gear Up for Ag.” It’s designed to teach agricultural health to students in colleges, and one of its competencies is regarding ATV and UTV safety. In the class, she has the students who’ve rolled stand up for the students to get a visual.
“It’s pretty common in a class that somebody knows somebody that’s died. And a lot of times, it’s young people or somebody that’s a quadriplegic from an accident.”
She says that the stories make it interesting to the students, and they pay close attention since they can relate. Students actively participate and are more likely to change their behavior, as opposed to a model that uses scare tactics.
“We use those incidents to describe proper use with students talking to each other, peer to peer. That’s very important,” Sheridan explains. “When we do a post-survey based on the information we give them, we see they’re more likely to wear a helmet, less likely to have extra riders, and consider the behaviors that cause them to roll.”
The class goal is to empower the next generation of agriculturalists to teach safety to parents, grandparents, and younger siblings. While ATVs have handlebars and UTVs have steering wheels, some believe that UTVs are safer due to their structure. This may also be because UTVs have seatbelts, which only work if riders use them.
“ATVs also come in several sizes. One size doesn’t fit all, so you’ll need to know the vehicle‘s cc,” Sheridan says.
The cubic centimeters (cc) refers to the volume of the engine. Each manufacturer will offer a guide that includes the engine cc, speed of the vehicle, and operator-age based on the engine size.
Load capacity also directly relates to safety. Read the manual to find what’s suitable. Typically, you should place about 1/3 of the weight on the front and the other 2/3 on the rear. Manuals will even spell out the total payload capacity and front and rear load capacity.
“There’s also capacity for what you can pull,” Sheridan adds. “If you’re going to pull a load or even pull fence posts, make sure you‘re not going to be tipping or rolling. If you‘re checking cattle or a fence, ensure the terrain isn’t too steep.”
The use of crush protection devices is becoming more popular. The devices are like a rollover bar on a tractor and will stop a complete roll. Sheridan likes them because they take some responsibility away from the owner and operator. However, while they do prevent rollover deaths, she warns they won’t stop all injuries. If your current vehicle doesn’t have a crush protection device, add-ons for retrofits are available. The other caveat for them is that they work best when the crash is slower than 30 miles per hour. Helmets are easy personal protective equipment to get riders to use. Knee pads take a bit more convincing.
“It doesn’t matter if you have employees or if it’s your kids or you. Safety is still the same,” Sheridan says. “I think the difference between employees versus your family is that you might be able to say to wear a helmet or you need to wear your safety belt. You have more ability to control for a potential injury or death.”
ATVs and UTVs don‘t take a lot of gas and can get you to places you normally wouldn‘t be able to with a standard vehicle. They‘re convenient and fun as long as they’re driven safely.
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Kenny Coogan earned a master’s degree in Global Sustainability and has published over 400 articles on pets, livestock, and gardening. He lives on a 1-acre homestead with a flock of Pekin ducks, managing a permaculture-style landscape. Coogan also runs a successful carnivorous plant nursery in Tampa.
Originally published in the May/June 2024 issue of Countryside and Small Stock Journal and regularly vetted for accuracy.
