Supposedly a sport where the whole family can enjoy the thrill of zipping along in their all-terrain vehicles, ATV rides can instead turn from fun and togetherness into nightmares of injury and death.

MSNBC recently posted a video describing the fatal ride of a 14-year-old boy who died following an accident on an ATV that weighed 700 pounds.

The report cited these numbers: “In 2010, at least 55 kids younger than 16 were killed in ATV accidents. More than 28,000 were seriously injured, leading the American Academy of Pediatrics to warn... ATVs are dangerous to children, and the risks are not limited to kids.”

Additionally, “every year 700 people die, and 136,000 go to the emergency rooms because of ATV-related injuries.”

The television reporter suggested bad behavior and the popularity of YouTube videos as reasons for the increase in accidents.

For its part, the ATV industry emphasizes safety and is holding classes where instructors stress rules such as always wearing a helmet, never riding on a public road, never riding with a passenger, and respecting the different size limits for adults and children.

An ATV membership group, the All-Terrain Vehicle Association, takes a hard-line approach to the issue. It asks, “How would you feel if your health insurance stopped every time you got on your ATV? Or you were outlawed from trails on millions of acres of public land? Or was there a ban on anyone under 16 riding an ATV? Or you were banned from riding on your own land?”

Not surprisingly, Concerned Families for ATV Safety, a network of parents dedicated to reducing injuries and deaths among children driving ATVs, offers support to victims’ families and provides parents with information and resources to make informed decisions about their children and ATVs. The group also aims to keep children under 16 off ATVs and to enforce ATV laws.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) urges ATV riders to stay safe on the trails and make 2012 the year that curbs the annual rise in deaths and injuries seen every summer. Already this year, CPSC staff received reports of 130 adults and 28 children under the age of 16 who died since January in ATV-related incidents. As of June 1, at least 14 adults and three children were reported to have died from accidents occurring during the Memorial Day holiday weekend, May 25 to 28.