Examination of two differing experiential approaches to all-terrain vehicle (ATV) safety trainings among youth in Oklahoma

Abstract

Each year in the United States, hundreds of fatalities and thousands of accidents are reported related to all-terrain vehicle (ATV) usage. Youth are considered an especially at-risk population, predominantly children 16 years of age or younger, because they tend to ride without helmets or safety gear, carry passengers, ride on public roads and/or highways, and operate machines much too large and powerful for their size. This study examined two types of experiential approaches to ATV safety trainings: (a) an interactive training conducted at the Oklahoma Wildlife Expo, which included both a classroom segment and a riding segment, and (b) a school-based training, which included a presentation, coupled with static demonstrations using both youth- and adult-model ATVs and safety equipment, and a short film. Kolb's (1984, 2015) experiential learning theory served as the theoretical framework for this study.

A non-experimental, one-group survey research design was utilized to examine youth 10-18 years of age who participated in an interactive ATV safety training held at the 2017 Oklahoma Wildlife Expo. Prior to participation in the training, youth completed a self-reported questionnaire about their ATV usage behaviors and knowledge. Participants demonstrated mixed results pertaining to their level of ATV-related safety knowledge and behaviors, indicating that there is substantial room for improvement in terms of altering unsafe riding behaviors.

A one-group pre-test/post-test research design was utilized to examine youth participating in a school-based ATV safety training at a rural middle/high school in Oklahoma. Students completed a pre-test survey instrument designed to measure ATV usage behaviors and knowledge prior to participation in the training, and a post-test survey instrument approximately three months after the training was completed. Similar to the findings of participants from the Wildlife Expo, students in the school-based training demonstrated mixed results pertaining to their level of ATV-related safety knowledge and behaviors, indicating that the training was marginally effective at increasing ATV safety knowledge, and was largely ineffective at changing ATV-related behaviors. Continued research efforts are called for in order to improve existing training efforts.