DES MOINES, Iowa — Governor Kim Reynolds declared this week ATV and UTV Safety week. So far this year there have been 19 fatalities on ATVs and UTVs on Iowa’s roadways, a 50% increase from last year’s total of 12 fatalities.

To help prevent more ATV and UTV fatalities Nationwide Insurance and RideSafe powered by BRP are hosting three ATV and UTV safety days at local school districts this week: Martensdale-St. Marys, Winterset, and I-35.

Laramie Sandquist, the Leader of Risk Management for Nationwide Agribusiness, said that the training will help prevent accidents and deaths from driving ATVs and UTVs

“We want to make sure that people are using them safe by following the manufacturer’s specifications, following the safety guidelines, and just ensuring they know what to do with these vehicles, because as we know, they are fun. They can be exciting to use from a recreational standpoint, but if we don’t use them safely, unfortunately, we’re seeing the downsides of that as well. Where people are being seriously injured and unfortunately killed using these vehicles,” Sandquist said.

Some safety experts, like Katy Sowden, the Injury Prevention Coordinator at Blank Children’s Hospital, said the safest thing to do is wait until children are older to let them use ATV or UTVs.

“The other thing is, you know, having some of that key safety gear, having an appropriate helmet, goggles, the long sleeves and pants even to help with any of those types of injuries. We actually don’t recommend children under the age of 16. They don’t have a driver’s license. They shouldn’t be operating one of those vehicles in the first place. But if they’re going to, those are some of the things we would recommend,” Sowden said.

To learn more about ATV and UTV safety, visit Nationwide’s website.