Research at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center shows that injuries sustained on go-karts are frequently serious.  The study looked at children hospitalized by go-kart injuries.

Among these children, almost half required one surgical operation, and one-third required of the kids required two or more operations.  The average hospital stay was almost five days. 

 

Causes of injury varied.  Collisions with stationary objects, such as trees, were common.  Other children were injuried when the go-kart flipped over.  Collisions with cars and other moving vehicles, such as bikes, motorcycles, and other go-karts were also common.  A large portion of the hospitalized children were not wearing helmets during their accident.  Helmets can help prevent the most serious and life-threatening injuries.

 

Some of the injured children were passengers, and the youngest was only 2 years old.  The author of the study,  David Cline, said children should be at least 12 years of age and weight 80 pounds to drive or ride go-karts.  Parents should be present to supervise these activities.  Go-karts can be a lot of fun for kids, but they should be respected, and not treated like any other toy.