With fall now upon us, that means hunters are out riding ATVs. In today's Safe Family report, Josh Stevenson goes to the experts on how to keep you out of danger.

Riding all-terrain vehicles can be a fun way to spend time outdoors with friends and family, but like all motor vehicles, if used improperly, they can be dangerous.

To operate one of these off-road vehicles safely, it is important to use the vehicle within its designed function.

“You need to first figure out what you’re going to do with it, what kind of riding you’re going to do, who is going to operate it, and then get the machine to do the job,” Butch Miller at Honda Polaris of North Texas says.

Besides having the right kind of machine, having the right kind of gear is critical.

“Most importantly, get safety gear and use it. A helmet, jerseys, boots, chest protectors, pants, goggles -- not glasses -- goggles, you certainly wouldn’t go up 10,000 feet in an airplane and jump out without a parachute. Use a little common sense,” Miller says.

Miller says it is important to remember that the vast majority of ATVs are single-occupant vehicles

“Of course no ATV, unless it is designated as that type, can handle more than one rider, and that is the operator and the operator only.”

Always follow the manufacturer’s directions when operating a piece of equipment and take advantage of provided training.

“There is free training available when you buy an ATV from any of the leading manufacturers. Everyone in the family that is old enough to operate that machine legally can get that training for free.”

For more information, check out http://www.atvsafety.org/

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