Emergency Visits
Hospitalizations
Deaths
This HealthSTATS page provides data on injuries to individuals that were either drivers or passengers of off-road motor vehicles including all-terrain vehicles (ATV) and snowmobiles. Injuries resulting from both traffic and non-traffic off-road motor vehicle collisions are included on this page.
Emergency Visits
According to the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS), in 2020 there were approximately 600 emergency visits for occupants of off-road motor vehicles injured in transport accidents in Simcoe Muskoka and about one-quarter were snowmobile-related injuries. Snowmobile-related injuries were lower in 2020, while ATV-related injuries were higher. This difference is likely due to change in behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic that started in March 2020.
The age-standardized rate for off-road motor vehicle injury emergency visits in Simcoe Muskoka for all ages and sexes in 2020 was 107.3 (98.8, 116.3) visits per 100,000 population, which was about double the Ontario rate of 55.1 (53.9, 56.3) visits per 100,000 population.
The off-road motor vehicle injury emergency visit rates increased in 2020 by more than 10% in Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario overall. This increase was due mainly to an increase in ATV-related injuries, which increased by 30% in Simcoe Muskoka and 20% across Ontario.
There was a significant upward trend in the off-road motor vehicle injury emergency visit rates in both Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario from 2003 to 2008 before declining significantly from 2008 to 2018. The 2019 rates in Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario were not significantly different from 2018 rates. The Simcoe Muskoka off-road motor vehicle injury emergency visit rates were approximately twice as high as the provincial rates since 2003.
The age-standardized rate for off-road motor vehicle injury emergency visits in Simcoe Muskoka among males in 2020 was 160.3 (145.9, 175.8) visits per 100,000, which was more than triple the Simcoe Muskoka female rate of 51.9 (43.6, 61.3) visits per 100,000. The male and female off-road motor vehicle injury emergency visit rates were approximately twice as high as the comparable provincial rates since 2003.
In 2020, snowmobile-related emergency visits among females in Simcoe Muskoka decreased by more than 40%, while visits among males only decreased by 15%; however, ATV-related emergency visits increased by approximately 30% for both males and females. This resulted in an overall increase in all off-road motor vehicle injury emergency visits of 13% for males and 5% for females
There was a significant increasing trend in the off-road motor vehicle injury emergency visit rates in Simcoe Muskoka among males from 2003 to 2008 followed by a significant decreasing trend from 2008 to 2019; however, no statistically significant trends were apparent for Simcoe Muskoka females from 2003 to 2019. The male off-road motor vehicle injury emergency visit rates were more than the three-times higher than the female rates since 2003.
The age-specific rate for off-road motor vehicle injury emergency visits between 2016 and 2020 (combined) in Simcoe Muskoka was highest among adults 20 to 44 years of age at 142.1 (134.4, 150.1) visits per 100,000, followed closely by children and youth under 20 years of age at 114.7 (106.4, 123.4) visits per 100,000. The age-specific Simcoe Muskoka rates were significantly higher than the comparable provincial rates for all age-groups.
For the time period from 2016 to 2020 (combined) in Simcoe Muskoka, emergency visits for off-road motor vehicle injuries were highest among those living in areas with the lowest amount of material deprivation and lowest among those living in areas with the most deprivation (as measured by the 2016 Ontario Marginalization Index). This is the opposite pattern of most injury-related emergency visits.
Hospitalizations
In 2020, there were over 70 hospitalizations for off-road motor vehicle related injuries in Simcoe Muskoka. The age-standardized rate for off-road motor vehicle injury hospitalizations in Simcoe Muskoka for all ages and sexes in 2020 was 12.7 (10.0, 16.1) admissions per 100,000 population, which was significantly higher than the Ontario rate of 7.0 (6.6, 7.4) admissions per 100,000 population. Approximately 10% of all off-road motor vehicle related injury emergency visits led to a hospital admission.
The age-specific rate for off-road motor vehicle injury hospitalizations between 2016 and 2020 (combined) in Simcoe Muskoka was highest among adults 20-44 years of age at 15.8 (13.3, 18.7) admissions per 100,000. The age-specific Simcoe Muskoka rates were significantly higher than the comparable provincial rates for adults between the ages of 20 and 64 years over this five-year period. The off-road motor vehicle injury hospitalization rates for males in Simcoe Muskoka were significantly higher than the comparable female rates for all age-groups over this same period.
Deaths
Over the 16-year period between 2000 and 2015, 69 occupants of off-road motor vehicles in Simcoe Muskoka died in transport accidents and 56 (or 81 per cent) of these deaths were from non-traffic collisions (i.e. not occurring on a public road or highway). Ninety per cent of the decedents were males and over half were adults between 20 and 44 years of age. The off-road motor vehicle mortality rate in Simcoe Muskoka (0.90 (0.66, 1.07) deaths per 100,000) was significantly higher than the comparable provincial rate (0.30 (0.29, 0.34) deaths per 100,000) over this 16-year period. The death data come from the Vital Statistics database for Ontario.
