What Canadian safety experts say about kids and ATVs
Alberta Health Services, the Canadian Paediatric Society, Alberta Agriculture and Parachute on children and ATVs, side by side, including where their advice differs.
We sell ATVs, so you'd be right to wonder whether we'd tell you the whole story on kids and quads. Here it is, straight from the health and safety bodies, without softening.
The recommendations side by side
| Organization | What it recommends for children and youth |
|---|---|
| Alberta Health Services | Strongly recommends that children under 16 not ride ATVs. Says it supports the Canadian Paediatric Society recommendation that children and youth under 16 should not operate an ATV, even a child-size or youth model. |
| Alberta Agriculture | No child or youth under 16 should operate an adult ATV. Youth should ride only an ATV that suits their age, weight and maturity, following manufacturer recommendations. |
| Parachute (Canada's injury-prevention charity) | Minimum age 12 to ride as a passenger, 14 to operate with an adult supervising within clear sight, and 16 to operate unsupervised or carry a passenger under 18. |
| Canada Safety Council | Offers a separate ATV rider course for children under 14 whose parents specifically permit them to ride, on a machine of the proper size under industry standards. |
Where they agree
- Children and youth don't have the strength, skills and judgment that safe ATV operation needs. AHS says even child-size ATVs aren't safe for children under 16.
- No one under 16 on an adult-size ATV.
- Helmet every ride, plus protective gear.
- No passengers on an ATV built for one rider.
- Training before riding, daylight riding, and adult supervision.
Where they differ
AHS and the Canadian Paediatric Society draw the line at 16 for any ATV. Parachute sets a graded path starting at 12 as a passenger and 14 as a supervised operator. Manufacturers build youth models labelled from age 6. Those are different questions: the health bodies are saying what's safe, and the manufacturers are saying what a machine is designed for.
Why the health bodies are firm about it
AHS reports that from 2020 through 2024, Alberta children and youth aged 15 and under had 5,532 ATV-related emergency and urgent care visits and 288 ATV-related hospitalizations. Nationally, Parachute cites Statistics Canada figures of about 100 ATV-related deaths a year in Canada, mostly from rollovers or flips.
If a young rider in your family will ride anyway
AHS says that if someone under 16 does ride, they should:
- always wear a helmet
- take an ATV training course
- stay on clearly marked ATV trails
- ride only in daylight
- ride sober
- ride the right size ATV
- not carry passengers
- be supervised by a responsible adult
AHS adds that it's still not considered safe for people under 16 to ride an ATV. Our family riding rules page turns these points into house rules.
We don't push youth ATV sales on this site. If you want to talk it through in person, our stores' powersports staff are at Frontier Mitsubishi (Grande Prairie) and Borderlands (High Level and La Crete).
Sources
- Off road vehicles (Alberta Health Services), checked October 25, 2026
- All terrain vehicle (ATV) safety (Alberta Health Services), checked October 25, 2026
- ATV safety (Alberta Agriculture), checked October 25, 2026
- All-terrain vehicles (Parachute), checked October 25, 2026
- ATV rider training (Canada Safety Council), checked October 25, 2026
Guides in this section
Our first in-depth guides for this section are being written and fact-checked now. In the meantime, start with the overview above or browse all guides.