Which is less dangerous: a dirt bike (motorcycle) or an ATV (quad)
when ridden in a non-competitive off-road setting assuming a moderate
level of skill?

The reason I am asking is that my 12 year old son wants an ATV and I
have no experience with them.  I do have some experience riding a dirt
bike when I was younger.  Because of the size and configuration of an
ATV, it seems more dangerous to me but I have no data to support my
opinion.  We will use your data to decide which type of off-road
vehicles to buy for us.

Whichever we end up choosing, the plan is that we will each have our
vehicle and ride them together.  We will use helmets, boots and other
body protection.

Please find me some reliable data perhaps from insurance, medical or
government sources.  The veracity of the industry data might be
suspect since they may be trying to paint a safer face on their use.

Thank you in advance.

Richard Sinor

I think the ATV is, I had both when I was a kid and had the ATV
rolling on top of me a couple of times, the bigger ones could crush
you as they are very heavy.

With a dirt bike you tend to get thrown away from the machine.

It depends upon the nut behind the wheel.