EMTs urge careful ATV-ing in the Oregon Dunes

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EMTs urge careful ATV-ing in the Oregon Dunes

Source: The Umpqua Post :: EMTs urge careful ATV-ing

Sand Dune Guide and Atlas to Sand Dune Locations

Summer brings most dangerous days on dunes

A local dune park is touted among riders for its steep terrain, blinding corners and sudden drops.

But the always-changing landscape that provides the biggest thrill for off-road enthusiasts also produces the park’s greatest hazards.

Injuries happen often. The latest death, in October 2007, occurred when an all-terrain vehicle ridden by a 16-year-old boy collided with a sandrail.

A sheriff’s deputy said witnesses guessed the boy’s banshee was in fifth gear, moving about 60 miles per hour as he rode into a congested area.

As the boy’s ATV rounded a sandy hummock, it collided with the larger sandcar. Neither driver had time to react.

The boy’s head smashed a metal beam. He died in the wreck, emergency responders said.

Response
To riders who don’t know what they’re doing or can’t see where they’re going, said Winchester Bay fire chief Scott Anderson, the dunes are deadly.
Anderson said wind, rain and vehicles constantly reshape the dunes. Some features change daily in the middle riding area of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, south of Winchester Bay.

“A lot of it is just not understanding the dunes change,” Anderson said. “They believe it’s the same as it was three weeks ago, when they were here.”
The Winchester Bay Rural Fire Protection District serves as a rescue team on the middle riding area. Department members respond to more than 150 reports of fires, wrecks or medical calls each year.

Almost half of those are dunes wrecks. And most of those entail serious injury, Anderson said.

“Most people who call us have broken something,” he said.
ATV wrecks injured 60 in 2007, 73 in 2008 and 67 in 2009. Most patients are evacuated to a hospital. Only deaths on the sand are recorded by the department.

Anderson said wreck frequency has increased since the mid-1990s, when he joined the department.

Wrecks rarely caused serious injuries back then, Anderson said. But the likelihood of broken bones and fatalities has increased with the size and weight of the ATVs.

Riders’ vehicles have become faster, he said, and more ATVs appear on the dunes each summer.

Side-by-side utility terrain vehicles are now popular, meaning smaller ATVs must share the road with vehicles sometimes twice their weight.
“Our biggest concern is that you’ve increased your patient load,” Anderson said. “In side-by-sides ... you’re talking multiple patients.”
The worst wrecks involve collisions.

“It’s that 40-mile-per-hour-to-zero stop,” he said.
Many more injuries are caused by burst or compression fractures — often when a rider in a sitting position makes a sudden drop or takes a bad jump on a bike.

“They’re usually in an incredible amount of pain,” Anderson said.
The department responds with ATVs, often requiring more than 20 minutes to reach a wreck.

“People don’t realize if you wreck in the back 40 ... it takes us 10 minutes to get on the sand then maybe 15 minutes to get them out,” Anderson said. “They’ve been laying out there in the cold sand.”

Prevention

Anderson believes tighter state restrictions on ATVs and riders may cut down the number of dunes wrecks each year.
Oregon already requires riders under 16 to properly fit Class I ATVs, wear helmets on most vehicles and in many cases hold a state ATV safety education card. By 2014, every rider will be required to have a card.
The Siuslaw National Forest and Douglas County also prohibit alcohol on the dunes.

“The biggest issue we had out there, and continue to have out there, is alcohol,” said Douglas County deputy Chris Noffsinger. “It still happens fairly regularly.”

Noffsinger was not sure how many alcohol arrests the county makes each year, but said alcohol is more prevalent in large groups.

The majority of ATV accidents happen in three months of peak usage, from June through August.

“It’s the 100 most dangerous days of recreation,” Anderson said.
Noffsinger said the department’s off-road officers don’t specifically seek out alcohol use, but they do make regular patrols.

“Oftentimes they see us, and that’s a deterrent,” Noffsinger said.
He said riders should have a clear line of sight. A small, overlooked, razorback is just as dangerous as a large dune.

Noffsinger and Anderson said the safest riders are respectful of the dunes.
“They are big, they are steep and they are dangerous,” Noffsinger said.