There is an article on the front page of the Oklahoman today about a MANDATORY HELMET LAW for ATV riders and it also says the law would not allow riders under 16, and outlaw passengers. The Health Department and Oklahoma Safe Kids Coalition is looking for a legislative sponsor for this bill. I hope they dont find one, but I bet they will. If they were to get this one passed the street bike riders will be next. This is an assault on our freedom of choice. I would call my legislator and voice my opinion oin this one.

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04.5 Polaris Sportsman 700

02 Heritage Softail Classic

Jim, Are they trying to restrict ALL atv riders under 16 from riding a quad? If thats one of the cases, then the manufactur's will step in on this to vote it down. Millions of dollors of quads and riding gear are sold to riders under the age of 16 yearly in oklahoma. Probably much, much more. I see the only thing they could pass is an under 16 helmet law. kind of like the under 18 helmet law on road bikes in oklahoma. I see many changes coming for atvers in the coming years, just like the tag deal for 06 and newer ORV's. I do not like the tag deal since i cant ride on the paved roads. If we have to tag like cars , then we shold be able to ride where they drive. I know alot of states have tag or sticker laws, but most of those states dont have the riding land we have. Most of the stickered states only legal riding spots are state owned like Little Sahara and lake murray. These are 2 of the few that Oklahoma could enforce a tag/ sticker law on 06 modle quads and newer. And when you pull through the gates at any of these places, are they going to ask you " what year is your quad?" well for several years you could say " Oh its an 05" and drive right on in.

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Red ATV
Orange ATV
Little Orange ATV

Oklahoma City (AP) - State health officials are looking for a lawmaker to sponsor legislation prohibiting anyone under 16 from driving an all-terrain vehicle.

The law proposed by the state health Department would also prohibit passengers on A-T-V's and require helmets.

Health officials say there have been at least 14 deaths this year in A-T-V accidents, including three in November that killed two 15-year-olds and a 14-year-old.


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2005 Yahama Grizzly 660 4 x 4

Yes, I agree the manufacturer's will be all over this. As Racechick quoted and the way I read it is it applies to anyone under 16 years old, but the helmet law would apply to everyone!!!

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04.5 Polaris Sportsman 700

02 Heritage Softail Classic

Texas has had this law in place for a while now and it is srictly enforced at all the places I have been. I personally dont agree with the kicking off passengers. My daughter is 5 and she has so much fun sitting in my lap when we go zipping up the face of a big dune at Little Sahara on my quad, but it is going to suck if they get this law passed and I have to tell her she cant no longer ride with daddy cause some dummys that were elected that dont ride quads made a stupid law. Now I know that this law is a "blanket law" to cover everyone in the state of Oklahoma, but out of the 14 reported deaths, how many were due to ignorant people doing stupid stuff on a quad they couldnt handle? For those of us who do ride with a passenger(like my daughter at the dunes) that have fun in a responsible manner, why should we be punished? Do I gas it at the top of a dune so we both fly 30 ft off the top? NO! Do I ride wheelies in forth gear with her on? NO! Do I do stoppies in front of Little Sahara Power Sports on a 800 lb utility quad? NO! I know 3 of those 14 deaths were at Waynoka this year doing what I just descibed and I dont want to be punished for others mistakes. I dont know if the guy who flew off the dune had a helmet on or not or if it would have saved his life due to the long fall he had but the other two were not wearing a helmet and might have had a chance with one on their THICK heads! The helmet law is taking a pop shot at our liberal atv laws here but I won't not argue it but because of the few, all of us will suffer.

If anyone here finds a good website with their elected reps on it, please post it and I will do the same cause I will be contacting my local reps and giving them my tow cents! Maybe we can get a petition started or something but we have to nip these laws in the bud quickly cause this is BULL S**T!!

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JGH,

I couldn't agree with you more!!!!!

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04.5 Polaris Sportsman 700

02 Heritage Softail Classic

Ladies and Gentlemen...

Lets follow the advice of these people and begin with an E-Mail Campaign. Like someone said earlier, I believe it was Ronnie, if we can get to our legislators early, perhaps we can stop this from ever coming out of committee. The Legislature convenes sometime in early february if I remember right...it's been a while since I checked. Once we find out what the committee assignments are we can concentrate on the members of the appropriate committee. Sound good to everyone? Meanwhile the links below will take you to a roster of legislators and you can contact your individual State Senators and Representatives.

Write Early and Write Often

Members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives


Members of the Oklahoma State Senate

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If so check out the web site at:

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Or......

E mail us at Coacatvclub@aol.com

WHEW after an hour and a half I FINALLY got a email sent to every representative !

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i know this is an old post and doesn't necessarily affect me BUT i would liek to say.. i don't know why people make such a big deal about wearing a helmet? i mean it just like 2 more lbs and it only helps you.

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H.O.N.D.A. How Odd.. No Damn Acceleration
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if you need help im me or something MSN:speedy2222@gmail.com AIM: Spdy748 YAHOO:speedy_fast2003

Folks I don't know if this has came to pass as of yet, but we here in Ky are fighting the same fight, we already have a Helmet law, now they want a law that states anyone under the age of 16 CANNOT, ride our toys at all.
I just spent 4 days in Frankfort,Ky and got a promise from 10 of our reps that this would not even get out of committee, how can we teach our young riders to ride safe, enjoy our great outdoors, if they cannot even ride until they are `16.
Your voice is needed to stop this, and with the numbers we have all over the Nation they have to listen for sure.

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Preston McLain
President Harlan Co. Ridge Runners ATV Club Inc.
ppmmack@aol.com
clubsite

The bill is Senate bill 1830. The first part is a helmet law for anyone under 18. The second part, paragraph B, bans anyone under 12 from any and all ATV's. Senator Cain introduced this and it has gone to Judiciary Committee.

All that info is on the Thread Oklahoma Bans under 12 or something like that by racechick. I called Royce Wood of AMA and he said to write the committee members. You can also look up the bill by going to oksenate.gov.

This is a terrible bill and the title of the bill is misleading and the news channel didn't say anything about banning kids under 12 either. I guess you can't believe the news media. You have to see it for yourself. My kids are priority number 1 when we ride. They wear their helmets and they have never complained.

Great info Mom, this is how it gets started on a grass roots level, our Reps will never know how we feel unles we just plain tell them.

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Preston McLain
President Harlan Co. Ridge Runners ATV Club Inc.
ppmmack@aol.com
clubsite

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Senate bill 1830 passed out of the judiciary committee and now is going to the full house. The admendment to drop the under 12 wording failed.

It is time to contact you senators and representatives again.

This is not looking good. Here is where the info is on the bill
http://okinsider.com/readstory.oki?type=headline&storyid=0QF1CKF49


Ronnie

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Grizz-for the river
Sandrail-for the dunes

Even more good news.

Senate Bill 1830 has an emergency clause attached to it.

Ronnie

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Grizz-for the river
Sandrail-for the dunes

Does anyone know if the OCCRA or any other groups are contacting the Senators since this BAN for under 12 will be voted on by the Senate and possibly the House?

Senator Patrick Anderson emailed me and he is against this bill, but we need to keep after these people or they may change their minds.

Has anyone heard from any other Senators, like the ones from around the City and Tulsa?

Houses Passes Helmet Bill
Tuesday April 04, 2006 7:50am





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Oklahoma City (AP) - A state House committee passed legislation Monday that would require anyone under age 18 to wear helmets while riding all terrain vehicles.

The Health and Human Services Committee voted 21-to-1 to send the Senate-passed bill to the House floor.

Supporters of the measure say it will reduce injuries and save lives.

Author of the bill Representative Bill Nations says 11 Oklahomans died in A-T-V accidents last year and none were wearing helmets.

The bill would also prohibit riders under the age of 14 from carrying passengers unless the A-T-V was specifically designed for it. A-T-Vs used for agricultural purposes would be exempt

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2005 Yahama Grizzly 660 4 x 4

Are the electric powered walmart carts excluded as well......?LOL

Sorry about your state.....that sucks!!

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"I pity da foo!"

Bikes 04' 300EX<BR>05' Kodiak 450 S.E. <BR>06' Desert Cat 90

The following was reported on 4/11/06 from the okinsider web site:

Amendments filed in regards to bill 1830:

Nations has filed a floor substitute for the bill, changing the requirement from 14 years to 18 years for the driver of an ATV to be able to carry a passenger, unless the vehicle is designed to transport a passenger.

Rep. Jim Newport, R-Ponca City, filed the most interesting amendment, adding language to the bill that would not only require a minor to wear a helmet but also to wear body armor at all times if there is a gun present in the household and to wear a helmet, knee pads and elbow pads when using any playground apparatus, such as a swing set or monkey bars.

When asked about the amendment filed by Newport, Nations noted he had not read the amendment and had not spoken with the author. "I'd prefer not to complicate the purpose of my bill," Nations stated. "I'd rather my bill stay clean."

Rep. James Covey, D-Custer City, also has filed an amendment, providing that helmets only have to be worn if the ATV is used on public land, which he defined as any land owned or controlled by the state.

Covey said the bill would be tough to enforce on private land but he had no problem with requiring the helmet law on public property. He said minors who merely move an ATV into a barn would be required to wear a helmet and he does not feel that is right. "In my opinion, whenever you move on my property, that's my right," Covey explained.

Nations said the Covey amendment would defeat the purpose of the bill. He said there could be discussion about the ability to enforce the law on private property but that he believes enforceable. "Most of the accidents happen on private property," Nations explained. "I don't see the point in excluding private property."


Call and write to our Reps. The deadline for this bill to be heard in the House is next week I believe.

UPDATE SB 1830 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bill 1830 died in the house because it was not heard by April 27, 2006 which was the deadline.

The comment below means we are all going to have to fight this crap again next year, because they (medical industry, safe kids of oklahoma, etc) think we need protected and that they need to protect our kids for us. Newsflash for them: I already protect my kids, I don't need a law and I don't need someone coming onto my private property telling me how to protect my family. Thank you very much. We all need to be ready and aware for the bills next year. I also received the following email forwarded to me by a friend regarding this issue.


The following is an excerpt from the okinsider web page:

4-28-06

Martha Collar, director of Safe Kids Oklahoma, expressed dismay that the bill was not heard before the deadline passed. "I think it's really sad. If we could have gotten it on the floor it would have passed because it had overwhelming support in the Senate and in the House committee," Collar said.

Amendments filed to the bill before it could reach the floor, however, further sparked the controversy surrounding the measure. Rep. Jim Newport, R-Ponca City, filed an amendment to the measure that would have required children to also wear body armor at all times if they live in a home in which firearms are kept. In addition, children would have to wear a helmet, kneepads and elbow pads when using playground equipment.

"I hope it was a joke but, while people are making jokes, kids are dying," said Collar. "We're going to continue doing what we can in the way of education but education only goes so far. We'll definitely be back next year with another bill."



(forwarded email below)

Collar, Martha E. (HSC)" <martha-collar@ouhsc.edu> wrote:


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Pipes, Kevin B. [mailto:KevinP@health.ok.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2006 3:35 PM
To: Collar, Martha E. (HSC)
Subject: RE: latest

As of this time the House leadership has reconfirmed that they will not allow a public recorded vote on the House Floor on SB 1830. The deadline passes on Thursday which will mean the measure is dead.

That is according to Rep. Dan Sullivan (Tulsa), House Majority Floor Leader. The House has a four-man committee headed by the Majority Leader, others on the committee include Rep. Jeff Hickman(Dacoma), Rep. Mark Liotta (Tulsa), and Rep. Dale Dewitt(Braman). This group was established to monitor floor agendas. They meet privately and apparently voted between themselves on whether to hear certain bills. If they tie then Speaker Hiett is called in to break the tie. We now have established that Rep. Hickman did not want the measure considered since he represents the area that includes the Little Sahara State Park. Unfortunately the Tourism Department needs some statute to help regulate ATV use in that park.

We were certain that had a floor vote been allowed the bill would in all probability passed in a bipartisan vote. Its difficult to impact a decision made in this manner. Thanks to Rep. Doug Cox, Bill Nations and Rep. Steele for their attempts with the leadership and their concerns for child safety.

I think those of you that deal with the tragedy and loss directly in the ER, rehab and EMS have been very helpful. My apologies to the parents who have taken time to advocate -- you deserve better consideration. Public Health policy usually is difficult because it asks the culture to change a widespread behavior that results in premature death or disability to a significant population. If we can work in the offseason to educate more legislators on a local level we will eventually get a good law, perhaps even a training program.


(end of email----in another email received these "Safety people" were trying to rally their supporters the Wednesday before the deadline to call in support for this bill so it would get heard.)


THANK YOU TO ALL WHO WROTE IN AGAINST THIS BILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


LATER,
ATV4MOM

New bills for Oklahoma 2007:

SB 1039-Oklahoma Sen. Andrew Rice (D) has introduced SB 1039, which targets children and families involved with ATV?s. It gives the State Board of Health authority to make further rules regarding ATV use as they see fit. This means the State Board of Health can make whatever rules they want to in the name of "protecting us from ourselves". There is another thread that tells about this bill. It also sets age/cc limits and penalties, etc.



HB 1686 introduced by Nations which requires any person under 18 to wear a helmet on an ATV.

HB 1539 introduced by McNiel which relates to required equipment for motorcycles; deleting age limitation for helmet requirement. This is a mandatory helmet law for motorcycles for everyone.

First off, everyone should wear a helmut, second, children under 17 should be required to wear helmuts. However, that's where it ends..No government agency needs that kind of oversight of our personal lives....That's the whole point of being a free society, we do what we do at our own risk..The problem comes when your risks; risk other peoples lives...Wear a helmut damn it!!! Make sure your kids have helmuts and know how to operatve an ATV or dirt bike, their the greatest things in your life. Guard them like a 1,000 lbs. of platinum!!

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Thanks,
Bank

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