Last modified: Monday, October 1, 2007 11:31 AM PDT ATV mishaps on the rise TWIN FALLS (AP) — Accidents on all-terrain vehicle such as four-wheelers are on the rise in Idaho, prompting some to call for better education about how to ride these powerful machines. State lawmakers say it’s unlikely new laws to promote safety would pass, in part because it’s difficult to enforce them. Since 1982, at least 89 Idaho residents have died in ATV-related accidents, with a quarter of those killed younger than 16, according to the state. At three hospitals in the region surrounding Twin Falls — St. Luke’s Magic Valley Regional Medical Center in Twin Falls, Minidoka Memorial Hospital in Rupert and Cassia Regional in Burley — 70 people have been treated for ATV-related injuries so far this year. Mothers like Gail Palomarez knows the pain: In September 2006, her 14-year-old son, Tyler Palomarez, was riding an ATV on trails around Alturas Lake near Stanley, Idaho. Tyler, astride his family’s 400-pound Honda, skidded off a trail and landed on his stomach before collapsing. His liver crushed, he died hours later. After last-ditch effort to save her son’s life failed, Gail Palomarez remembers the emotional surgeon’s words: ‘‘Never let anybody you know or love get on an ATV,’’ she told the Twin Falls Times-News. However, many don’t share the sentiment: More than 90,000 off-highway vehicles including ATVs are registered in Idaho today, up from 1,800 in 1984, according to the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation. The number of OHVs in Idaho is doubling every four years. Casualties are also rising, including among the very young: Earlier this month, a 6-year-old was killed near Malta when he was thrown from an ATV and struck a utility pole. The machine was driven by his 14-year-old sister, according to a police report. A 3-year-old sister, also aboard the ATV, suffered serious injuries. Other states are also experiencing similar ATV registration spikes — and more accidents. In Montana on Saturday, a Coram man died after crashing a friend’s all-terrain vehicle on a gravel road north of Columbia Falls. Earlier last week, men in Nebraska and Mississippi also died riding the four-wheeled machines. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that between 2002 and 2005, 138 people died while riding ATVs in West Virginia, while Kentucky had 143 deaths during the same period — nearly twice the fatalities of much larger states like California and Texas. Manufacturers offer rebates for buyers who complete an instructor-run safety program — for instance, warning parents that young, lighter-weight riders should use smaller models, not hulking machines that can be difficult to steer. Still, Parks and Recreation officials say many of those safety program rebates go unclaimed. According to a 2005 agency survey, about 65 percent of ATV riders say they taught themselves about safety and only a quarter of those surveyed said they received hands-on training from an instructor before their first excursion. Like Tyler Palomarez, 9 percent had no training at all. Idaho lawmakers say there’s little appetite here for increased regulation. Idaho is one of 20 states with no minimum age for riders, according to the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America. And though riders younger than 18 have been required to wear a helmet since 2005, that’s only enforced when they ride on public land. Kids doing ‘‘husbandry’’ — farm or ranch work — also don’t have to wear helmets. Senate Minority Leader Clint Stennett, D-Ketchum, said he doesn’t expect any new ATV safety legislation soon. There’s virtually no way to enforce tougher laws, he said, because law enforcement cannot patrol all of the places ATVs can go. ‘‘It doesn’t make much sense to pass a law if there’s no way to enforce it,’’ Stennett said. ATV enthusiasts say people need to accept the dangers and act accordingly. ‘‘People have to be responsible for their own actions,’’ said Stan Mai, a Twin Falls resident and longtime ATV rider. That’s what Gail Palomarez said she’s doing. Immediately after her son died this month, she sold her family’s ATV and vows never to own another one. ‘‘It’ll never happen again,’’ she said.