newspaper article Bill would let ATVs on most roads in the state
JAMES WARDEN
Associated Press
BISMARCK, N.D. - All-terrain vehicles, the knobby-tired machines that advertisers show zipping across rugged landscapes, could soon be allowed to cruise on most North Dakota roads. A trade group representing off-road vehicle makers says the proposal is dangerous.
Legislation introduced by Rep. Jon Nelson, R-Wolford, would let ATV owners register vehicles with 200 cubic centimeter engines or larger, and drive them on most state highways. They would not be allowed on interstates, or North Dakota's U.S. highways.
The bill, already approved by the House, got its first Senate hearing in the Senate Transportation Committee on Thursday.
Right now, ATV owners must pay a $10 registration fee every two years to ride off road, said Tom Balzer, a state Parks and Recreation Department manager.
The bill does not specify whether on-road ATVs would need a second registration or how much it would cost, he said. ATVs on the road would have to display the same license plates as motorcycles.
Children 12 years old can now drive an ATV if they have passed a safety course and written exam. Driving on the road would require a driver's license, which would require an ATV operator to be at least 14 years old. Drivers younger than 18 would have to wear helmets, Balzer said.
The Specialty Vehicle Institute of America, a trade group that represents manufacturers of off-road vehicles, opposes the measure. ATVs have tires that were not made for paved roads, and street-legal alternatives don't exist, said Michael Conway, a lobbyist for the institute. Conway submitted a written statement opposing the legislation.
"ATVs are not designed, manufactured, or in any way intended for use on public streets, roads or highways," Conway said in the statement.
North Dakota legislators questioned whether the vehicles' slower speed would hamper traffic. Sen. Jon Nelson, R-Wolford, the bill's sponsor, said some ATVs can go up to 55 mph. However, North Dakota highways have speeds as fast as 65 mph, said Sen. Thomas Trenbeath, R-Cavalier, the chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee.
Annette Behm-Caldwell, an owner of a Mandan vehicle dealership, said ATVs are as safe as other street-legal machines such as motorcycles or mo-peds. Riders sit higher on ATVs than on some motorcycles, and they are easier to see than a scooter, she said.
"These are not the ATVs from when we were young. Those were small. The ATVs of today are very large," Behm-Caldwell said.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates 6.2 million four-wheel ATVs were in use in 2003, twice as many as five years earlier. Consumer and physician groups have sought to ban sales if they are meant for children under 16, citing a high rate of injuries, but the commission said that would not necessarily stop youngsters from riding ATVs.
Duane Getzlaff, an ATV owner from Lake Metigoshe, said ATVs aren't just for fun. Farmers pull them behind tractors to return home during the day, and ranchers use them to herd cattle, he said.
South Dakota already has a law allowing ATVs on the roads, and the vehicles are used by all types of people to get around town, Getzlaff said.
"I was trying to find a parking spot today (at the Capitol)," Getzlaff said. "I thought we could use a four-wheeler here."
---
The bill is HB1196.
-------------------------
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." -- Galileo Galilei
"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble.
It's what you know for sure that just ain't so. "
Mark Twain
You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist. - F. Nietzche
Search Topic
02/27/2005 04:13 PM
