Children's Hospital reached a milestone yesterday it never wanted to approach -- already this year more children have been admitted to the Oakland facility for serious and sometimes life-threatening injuries sustained in all-terrain vehicle accidents than in all of 2006.

The hospital said 83 children had been admitted with ATV injuries in a little more than 10 months as compared with 72 through all 12 months last year.

Dr. Barbara Gaines, director of the Benedum Pediatric Trauma Program at Children's, said the number of youngsters admitted to the hospital has been going up in recent years.

"It was about 60 a year, then it was 70 a year. ... It does look like the numbers are steadily increasing," she said, adding that the good weather this fall might be one factor for this year's jump.

Unfortunately, the increase in injuries shouldn't come as a surprise given the track record of ATV accidents in Pennsylvania, where ATV use is among the highest in the nation.

"Incidents of death and life-altering injuries in Pennsylvania rank among the most serious in the country." said Scott Wolfson, spokesman for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

From 1982 through 2005, the most recent period for which statistics are available, Pennsylvania led the nation with nearly 400 ATV-related deaths, 120 of them occurring since 2001, Mr. Wolfson said. Nationally, there were more than 7,000 deaths during that period.

Each year, about 750 people in the United States die riding ATVs and there are more than 136,000 injuries requiring emergency room visits, he said.

"The thing about ATV injuries that are different than those from other consumer products is the severity of those injuries. They can be life-altering injuries," he said.

About one-quarter of deaths and injuries involve children younger than 16, he continued.

"And more than 90 percent of the injuries involving kids relate to them riding adult size ATVs," meaning that the engine size is greater than 90 cubic centimeters, Mr. Wolfson added. "There are youth models parents should be purchasing for their kids."

Dr. Gaines, however, said there is no data that indicates the smaller vehicles are safer. She said doctors don't want to see children on ATVs.

The youngest child Children's has treated for ATV injuries was 2 years old, she said. The youngest injured drivers have been 5 and 6 years old.

"I think that's pretty young," she said. "The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that no children under 16 ride ATVs. That stems from a couple of things: Children don't have the physical strength or cognitive strength. Physical strength is stabilizing the vehicle, keeping it in a forward motion. Cognitive is seeing hazards and knowing how to respond."

A mother of three small children, Dr. Gaines said she doesn't expect people to stop allowing their children to ride ATVs. But, she said, her advice is: "If you choose to ride, know they are inherently dangerous."

Allegheny County leads Pennsylvania with 7,463 of the 168,220 registered ATVs statewide, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Last year, there were 417 ATV accidents reported to DCNR that caused 439 injuries and 25 fatalities. In 2005, there were 397 accidents, 395 injuries and 42 fatalities. For 2004, there were 255 accidents causing 267 injuries and 26 fatalities.

Mike Mount, spokesman for the California-based All-Terrain Vehicle Safety Institute, said ATV manufacturers are as concerned as health care and government officials that their products are used safely. Indeed, the group, a not-for-profit division of the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America, was formed in 1988 to implement an expanded national program of ATV safety education and awareness, he noted.

"It's a multipronged approach that includes rider training for all purchasers and their families, parental supervision for use under the age of 16, enforceable state legislation and federal legislation that all products coming into the U.S. conform to safety standards," he said.

Members of the institute pay for safety courses for those buying new ATVs and, depending upon the manufacturer, pay an incentive for completing the course, Mr. Mount said.

In Pennsylvania, it is mandatory that all youths 8 to 15 take an approved ATV training course if they are planning to use their vehicles off of their parents' or guardians' property. No child younger than 8 is allowed to operate an ATV on public lands.

There's no denying the popularity of ATVs. Last year, an estimated 890,000 were sold in the United States, compared with 326,000 in 1996, Mr. Mount said. Pennsylvania was fifth among the states for ATV sales, according to the institute.

Approximately 7.6 million ATVs in the United States are being operated by more than 16 million Americans.

The ATV Safety Institute urges that every child younger than 16 be supervised and never permitted to ride an adult-sized ATV. The institute's "Golden Rules" of ATV safety include:

• Always wear a helmet and other protective gear.

• Never ride on public roads -- another vehicle could hit you.

• Never ride under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.

• Never carry a passenger on a single-rider vehicle.

• Ride an ATV that's right for your age. Guidelines are engines that are under 70 cubic centimeters for those 6 and older; 70 to 90 cubic centimeters for 12 and older; and over 90 cubic centimeters for those 16 and older.