Case Study

Abstract

While most motor vehicle operators must obtain a driver’s license, which requires training and a test, child operators of motorized dirt bikes can use these vehicles without any training or experience. In this case, a 10-year-old boy was riding a dirt bike in the desert for the first time. The area where he was riding had desert-like sand and dune conditions on both sides of a 2-lane highway. The boy received some oral instructions from a family friend, and then spent a few hours riding in the dirt. Towards the end of the day, an off-duty ambulance was driving down the highway. The child stopped at the side of the road, looked towards the ambulance, which was the only vehicle on the road in either direction, and then proceeded to cross, clearing the roadway. The ambulance driver panicked, left the road and struck the dirt bike 30 feet off the side of the road in the dirt. The boy suffered a traumatic brain injury with permanent brain damage. Human factors issues from both motor vehicle operators’ perspectives will be discussed.