Nonfatal injuries from off-road motorcycle riding among children and teens--United States, 2001-2004.

Motorcycle crashes are a substantial public health problem for children and teens. During 2003, among persons aged </=19 years, at least 245 died and an estimated 56,870 were treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments (EDs) for injuries sustained while riding a motorcycle. National surveillance has focused primarily on monitoring and characterizing fatal and nonfatal injuries from motorcycle crashes occurring on public roads. However, during 2003, at least 13 motorcycle riders aged </=19 years died in nontraffic incidents in places other than on public roads. This report focuses on injuries associated with off-road motorcycle riding, an increasingly popular recreational activity among youths. To characterize nonfatal injuries among young off-road motorcycle riders in the United States, CDC analyzed data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-All Injury Program (NEISS-AIP) during 2001-2004. Those data indicated that an estimated 23,800 off-road motorcyclists aged </=19 years were treated for nonfatal injuries in U.S. hospital EDs each year. Programs and policies directed at reducing the number of injuries from off-road motorcycle riding need to be strengthened; requiring minimum ages for off-road motorcycle riding might help prevent such injuries among children and teens.