Federal Highway safety regulations don't apply to ATVs so it's up to each state to establish its own laws. As a result there's a patchwork of safety standards across the country. In Indiana, ATVs are largely unregulated.
Kate's Story: A Tragic Accident Sparks A Campaign For Change
It's been nearly a year since Bruggenschmidt received the phone call that, for so long, she didn't believe was real.
"Kate was very anxious and shy, Bruggenschmidt says. "She wasn't a risk taker so I thought what did she do break her arm?"
It's not a toy. people can get hurt. People can get killed. You have to know how to use them properly.
Last July, 11-year-old Kate spent a break between softball games at a teammate's house. She was riding an ATV at about 11 miles per hour when the 650 pound machine rolled over on her. Kate was already gone when her family received the call. She wasn't wearing a helmet when she died from blunt force trauma to the head. The softball chest guard she had on went unharmed.
It might sound like a freak accident, but it's all too familiar.
In 2014, there were 239 ATV accidents and 13 fatalities. Those numbers increased in 2015 to 247 accidents resulting in 16 deaths. So far this year eight people have died in the state. Two Hoosiers died just over the Fourth of July weekend after being involved in ATV accidents.
Bruggenschmidt is now the driving force behind an effort to pass the first statewide law requiring kids under a certain age to wear a helmet.
Indiana ATV Helmet Law In Progress
Rep. Ron Bacon is drafting the bill that he calls a work in progress. It'll likely include an education requirement, a helmet requirement for kids under 18 or 16.
"We're not saying that we know everything, at least I'm not, but I need more people involved," Bacon says. "I need to get the Farm Bureau involved, the retail people involved and say, 'here is the law, if we did it this way what issues would you have with it.'"
Bacon says he hasn't heard much opposition. American Bikers Aimed Toward Education or ABATE of Indiana is a motorcycle rights and safety advocacy organization that, in the last eight years, has gotten more involved in off highway vehicle legislation. Executive Director Jay Jackson says he believes education and training is the always the best answer, not necessarily legislation.
"If you just mandate with a strict ‘you must do this' you'll get some compliance obviously because it's the law, but when you tell people why to do this and that there really are benefits to them, they tend to embrace it and own it more and it has a lot more value," Jackson says.
Jackson says the industry offers incentives for riders who take part in free education courses, but the results have been disappointing. He says the language of the law will determine whether the organization will support it.
We had to make a hole in our heart. We had to fill it with action and helping other people.
"Working with people is always easier than working against them so we embrace the opportunity to talk to folks and we're receptive to virtually any idea whether we end up supporting it or not," he says.
Bruggenschmidt says she agrees that helmet wearing should be a parent's decision, but that's not always the case.
"As the parents who lost their child, we didn't make that decision," she says. "Somebody made that decision for us. And our child died."
Now, she says this her way of continuing to do something for her daughter.
"I have to focus on the positive and focus on what Kate would want and Kate wanted to be a lawyer," she says. "She was all about helping other people. So I feel like the law is a way to help other kids."
The first draft of the legislation will be complete sometime in July. Representative Bacon is looking closely at other states' regulations, like Kentucky's standards, as he drafts his proposal. Kentucky has regulations matching the size of the ATV to a child and a mandatory helmet law for riders under age 16.
"Play for Kate" Keeps Kate's Memory Alive
In the meantime, friends and family are remembering Kate in other ways. Members of the Boonville community created "Play for Kate" within hours after the accident.
The non-profit foundation keeps Kate's memory alive while helping the community. A playground was built at the Boonville Junior League baseball and softball field where Kate and her team played. It was dedicated on her 12th birthday.
