Child injured in ATV accident

An accident at Matty’s Park Monday night has put the focus once more on ATV usage in Kahnawake - particularly by those operating them that are younger than the official minimum age of 16.

At around 7 p.m., a five-year-old girl was hit by a side-by-side ATV at the park, resulting in the girl having to be transported to the Montreal Children’s Hospital to treat minor injuries.

The Kahnawake Peacekeepers are still looking to identify the driver, who was described as a boy, not wearing a helmet, and driving an ATV with mesh doors and with camouflage. The driver fled towards the tunnel at the east end of Old Malone Highway following the incident.

The incident happened to fall at the start of ATV Safety Week in Kahnawake as well as National Off-Road Safety Month in Canada.

Kahnawake Peacekeeper spokesperson Kyle Zachary said that parents must speak with their children about operating ATVs.

“These laws that are in place are there for the safety of everybody. It’s not because we’re not allowing you to have fun,” said Zachary.

“Your brain develops over time. If you’re 16 years old, your brain has developed enough that your reflexes are better, your body is physically stronger to handle a vehicle that size. It’s not a random age we just chose to enforce. There are medical reasons why that is in place.”

Zachary also said that adults in the community must have serious discussions together, too.

“They need to discuss it amongst themselves and recognize what they’re allowing their children to do, realizing the dangers that are involved in this,” said Zachary.

In the meantime, safety campaigns continue in the community, with signage put up reminding Kahnawa’kehró:non of the rules to follow, as well as social media campaigns.

Zachary said that short-term solutions some community members have suggested online, like additional barriers around ATV trails, could do more harm than good.

“Putting up those kind of barriers could prevent someone getting struck in the future, but it’s also an additional hazard for someone driving those vehicles. A fender bender in a car is just that, a fender bender, but a fender bender on an ATV could be a fatal incident,” said Zachary.

“The best method of prevention is just adhering to the rules that are in place now and showing responsibility not only to your children, but to your entire community. It is a danger for young children to be operating these.”

Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) chief Ryan Montour, the lead on Public Safety, said that the message from Council is that parents must take responsibility.

“They have to understand these machines are powerful and fast,” said Montour.

Montour said that the advertising campaigns have been successful in terms of being visible and putting the word out on ATV safety, but he would also like to see a stricter enforcement of those rules.

On top of recent ATV incidents in the community - the damage to Mystic Pines Golf Course in April, for instance - Montour said that complaints about ATV misuse are frequent. That includes speed and going onto bike paths or on public roads, where ATVs are prohibited.

A few weeks ago, the MCK put up signs near the hospital and River Road because of ATV misuse, but it has continued, according to Montour.

“All the public safety campaigns and traffic campaigns without enforcement, it doesn’t work. So, we need stricter enforcement,” he said.

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