Free ATV safety training course set for Saturday at ag expo center

Special to the Daily Times

BOWLING GREEN January 24, 2008 07:35 pm

— There will be a free ATV safety program training course Saturday at Western Kentucky University’s L.D. Brown Agricultural Exposition Center. The course runs from 1 to 5 p.m. and is open to anyone age 12-18.
The course, conducted by Dale Dobson of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, is open to the first 25 to register. Advanced registration is re-quired by contacting Susan Jones (susan.jones@wku.edu) with WKU’s Department of Nursing or Lucy Juett (lucy. juett@wku.edu) with South Central Area Health Education Center (AHEC).
Topics include protective gear, main ATV parts and safety features, pre-ride inspections, operating an ATV, riding skills, riding on slopes and other terrains, first aid and emergency situations.
Cash prizes will be awarded during the course, including $100, $50 and $25 for first, second and third.
Kentucky led the nation in ATV deaths from 2002-2005 with 143. During the first five months of 2007, 17 people in Kentucky died and 129 were injured in ATV accidents.
The course is sponsored by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Kentucky Partner-ship for Farm Family Health and Safety Inc., South Central AHEC, WKU Institute for Rural Health Development & Research, WKU Department of Agriculture and University of Kentucky Cooperative Exten-sion Service.