N.S. premier calls baby ATV crash death ‘heartbreaking,’ won’t talk potential law changes | 24CA News
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston labelled the demise of a child following an ATV crash in Lunenburg Co. a “heartbreaking situation” on Thursday. Despite the condolences, Houston sidestepped any rapid discuss of strengthening legal guidelines concerning kids and off-road autos.
“Those are all discussions we can have but right now we’re just focused on the grief that’s being experienced,” he mentioned to reporters following a cupboard assembly on Thursday.
“The grief that we, the family, and certainly the friends and all of Nova Scotians feel over this, it’s just a heartbreaking tragedy.”
A child died, and two adults suffered critical accidents, following an ATV crash in the neighborhood of Forties, N.S., on Monday night.
Nova Scotia’s Off-highways Vehicles Act (OHV) at the moment doesn’t implement a minimal age requirement for passengers driving on ATVs.
Nova Scotia RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Guillaume Tremblay mentioned investigators now consider alcohol to be an element within the crash.
“We will certainly be examining any charges that will be suitable,” he mentioned throughout an interview on Wednesday, including that an investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Police consider a Polaris Rzr was travelling on a logging highway earlier than the car rolled and landed on its roof. A fourth particular person, a baby from Forties, was additionally taken to the hospital after sustaining minor accidents.
“What’s important to remember is that anyone who’s riding on or in an ATV or side-by-side is required to wear a helmet by law under the Off-highways Vehicles Act,” Tremblay mentioned on Wednesday.
Barry Barnet, the chief director for ATV Association of Nova Scotia (ATVANS), mentioned he isn’t conscious of any helmet that may match an toddler.
“I don’t think any manufacturer makes such a thing,” he mentioned, including that he’s by no means seen an toddler driving as a passenger on an ATV. “I have seen toddlers a long, long time ago. That was in a remote area of Nova Scotia before I worked for ATVANS. I did come across a group of very small children riding a single ATV, but it is rare.”
‘Extreme safe guidelines’
Kim Masland, the province’s minister of public works, mentioned “extreme safe guidelines” are already included in Nova Scotia’s Off-highway Vehicles act. She mentioned work continues to make sure folks adhere to the prevailing insurance policies.
“This is a very, very tragic accident. I can’t imagine, as a mother, losing a child,” she mentioned to reporters on Thursday. “It’s very difficult to talk about, but certainly we do have strong regulations and enforcement.”
Masland then mirrored on her private expertise utilizing off-road autos whereas rising up.
“OHVs have been around for a long time. I can remember growing up on an OHV, driving up the road … probably wasn’t allowed to do it, but we did it,” she mentioned. “So, I think the OHV act gives some guidelines and some policy for people to adhere to.”
IWK report, suggestion
In a report from IWK Health’s Child Safety Link in May 2022, the group took the place that no youngster beneath the age of 16 ought to function or be a passenger on an all-terrain car.
“IWK Health has significant concerns regarding the use of ATVs by children and youth due to the high risk of serious injury and death,” learn an announcement from the report, including that ATV-related accidents are overrepresented in kids aged 15 years or youthful.
“These safety concerns do not apply solely to the ATV operator, child and youth ATV passengers can also be seriously injured or killed, even with an experienced adult operating the vehicle.”
The report mentioned that 25 per cent of all ATV-related deaths contain kids and youth aged 15 years or youthful.
In Atlantic Canada, the speed of ATV-related hospitalizations for kids beneath the age of 14 elevated by practically two per cent yearly between 2004 and 2013. Between Jan. 2018 and March 2020, 36 kids aged 16 and youthful have been offered on the IWK with ATV-related accidents in Nova Scotia, with 17 being admitted to the hospital.
“The rate of ATV-related hospitalizations in Nova Scotia for children and youth aged 0–14 is 7.7 per 100,000,” the report mentioned, including that Nova Scotia ranks the second highest in Atlantic Canada — a area that already surpasses the nationwide common by 2.8.
As a consequence, IWK Health offered each provincial and federal governments with a number of legislative suggestions aimed toward strengthening ATV security — together with banning kids beneath the age of 12 from driving on ATVs as a passenger.
“As ATV use continues to rise, we can only expect to see an increased number of injuries and deaths if legislative changes are not made,” the report concluded.
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