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GREENSBORO – Regulations passed in 2006 mean stricter rules for people who ride All Terrain Vehicles in North Carolina, but law enforcement officials said the laws are often overlooked.

And with the number of ATV injuries and deaths on the rise, safety personnel across the state are training to teach people the ins and outs of riding.

"These deaths occur all over the state. We have them in the mountains and in the coast and because it's not happening in one geographical area, people don't realize how large of a problem this is," Detective Kevin Bennett with Greensboro Police Department said.

Later this month, The North Carolina Insurance Commission will launch a statewide initiative to educate people on ATV use. And law enforcement will be ready to help. They have trained all week in Greensboro to be certified ATV safety instructors.

"We'll take these guys who will go back to their respective areas and they'll get the word out, they'll go to local high schools or go to local clubs, local 4-H, Boy Scout groups and so forth, identify your ATV riders and get them into this class," Bennett said.

As part of a state law, people born after January 1, 1990 have to take a training course to ride an ATV.

But Kent Bennett, a state trooper in Kinston, said he sees a lot of people who ignore the law.

"Where I'm stationed at is a pretty rural area and you'll see a lot of the kids, a lot of parents kind of use them as baby sitters and they don't really supervise their children," Kent Bennett said.

ATVs can weigh as much as 700 pounds, which is why it's important for riders to only use a machine that is made for their size.

"That's where we run into a lot of the problem with the children being killed. They're placed on much too large a machine, they have trouble, they can't control it and the machine flips and kills them," Kevin Bennett said.

But a little education can go a long way, and hopefully save some lives.

"We're one of the last states to this, but the other states in front of us who have done this training have been able to cut their death rate in half and that's what we're trying to do, get this death rate down," Kevin Bennett said.

People under 18 must be supervised by an adult at all times while riding. ATVs can not be used on public streets, roads or highways. Riders can only carry passengers on machines meant for more than one person.