A large number of the people who ride A.T.V.'s are minors. Among them is 14-year-old Erin Powell, who has ridden an A.T.V. on private property in Ritchie County. The video shown Erin and other young people, at one of a series of classroom lessons Saturday, was an eye-opener.

"I didn't know there were different sizes for different ages," Powell said. "I have been riding the wrong size for me, so I need to check up on that."

Some who ride...and who shouldn't...are even younger than Erin. But a state official says much of the education should also be aimed at adults. He says riding an A.T.V. is different from driving a car.

"The law in 2004 pretty much required people under the age of 18 to take the class," said Mark Holmes, of the Governor's Department of Highway Safety, "but we also talk about adults and the law affecting them, also."

This course is not the end of the ongoing training would-be A.T.V. riders need. But there's hope people are getting the message about safety.

"People are starting to pay attention, especially when we're talking about parents dealing with children," Holmes says. "We're starting to see a lot more children wearing helmets we didn't used to, and it's starting to get a message across the state."

"I never really thought I would get into an accident," Erin says, "but I'm starting to think it could happen."

But the death toll continues to rise...both locally and nationally.

Across the nation, at least 18 people died in crashes involving A.T.V.'s over the Memorial Day weekend... and five of those killed were 16 or younger.