Rules off the road: Riders of all-terrain vehicles say new state regs go too far
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New state rules designed to increase off-road vehicle safety are getting a skeptical reaction from trail enthusiasts, who question whether restrictions placed on younger riders will provide much benefit.
Critics also wonder whether the new regulations will end up penalizing a majority of riders who already use the vehicles responsibly and teach their children to do so as well.
"I'm a big advocate of safety, but this law has the potential to take a lot of choice out of people's hands," says Donald Willard, a Chesterfield resident who's been riding a variety of off-road vehicles since childhood. "It used to be parents took responsibility for raising their kids - now it seems the laws are raising them."
Ernest Paradee of Northampton has been riding off-road vehicles - known as ORVs - for years and taught his daughters, Macala and Kaitlyn, both 13, the technique. He questions why the state is targeting ORVs when children face potential danger from a variety of other activities.
"What about horseback riding or playing football?" he asked. "Is the state going to say kids can't do that either?"
The new regulations, signed into law by Gov. Deval Patrick Aug. 1, prohibit children under 14 from riding ORVs, also known as all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), in most circumstances. Until now, riders as young as 12 could use an ORV if under adult supervision, and children as young as 10 could ride one if using it on the supervising adult's private property.
In addition, riders between ages 14 and 16 must now be directly supervised by someone over 18.
Lisa Capone, spokeswoman for the state's Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, notes that the new regulations reflect the recommendations of an advisory group established in 2007 that included public and private landowners, environmentalists, off-road riders and police.
"We think we really tried to take the views of many different people into consideration when looking at this issue," she said.
Capone noted that the revised laws include a provision allowing children ages 10 to 13 to ride ORVs in instructional events or races supervised by riding groups that have a permit from a town to stage an event.
What led to the law
The new legislation came to be known colloquially as "Sean's Law," prompted by the story of 8-year-old Sean Kearney of Plymouth, who died in 2006 when the ATV he was riding, unsupervised, at a friend's house overturned on him. Senate President Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, worked with the Kearney family and other advocates of greater youth restrictions of ATV use to develop the bill.
Among other things, the legislation requires mandatory safety training for riders 18 and younger. It also establishes a fund, based on registration fees and fines for illegal use of the machines, that is designed to pay for safety instruction, trail maintenance and enforcement measures by state Environmental Police.
Penalties for operating an ORV - as well as snowmobiles - while intoxicated have also been steeply increased, from a maximum of $75 to as much as $5,000. However, the new age-use restrictions for ORVs do not apply to snowmobiles and dirt bikes, which children as young as 10 can ride if they do so on their parents' property.
Penalties for underage riders of ORVs have also been stepped up, to $250 for a first offense and $500 for a second.
Supporters of the new regulations believe they'll go a long way to cutting down on accidental deaths of children, given that young ORV riders can sometimes have trouble controlling the machines and may not appreciate how powerful they are.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, nearly 2,600 children 16 and under died in ATV accidents between 1982 and 2008, with the numbers increasing noticeably after 2000, when ATV use began to grow.
"We couldn't prevent what happened to Sean, but we believe this law will prevent any more children in the future from being hurt," Katie Kearney, Sean's mother, said at a press conference at the signing of the bill.
Objections voiced
But Willard and other ORV users maintain age is not necessarily the determining factor when it comes to safe riding. "Some 12-year-olds can be a lot more cautious than 16- or 17-year-olds," says Willard. He notes he was driving a tractor on his family's farm when he was 12.
Paradee's daughters, who are both 12, say they've been riding ATVs without incident since they were about 6. "I think it's safe," says Macala. She said she usually rides with her sister and her father, as well as other family friends, such as Don Willard and his children.
"It's something we've been doing as a family for years," says Ernie Paradee. The riding, he notes, takes place on his property or that of friends. "We always stress the safety aspect," he adds.
Ken Anderson, president of the Massachusetts ATV Association, says his group "is never opposed to improving youth safety" but is worried that another provision of the new law - limits on the engine size of ATVs that riders between 14 and 16 may use - could actually endanger young riders by putting them on machines that are too small for them, thereby unbalancing the ride.
In a larger sense, Anderson believes, the law has targeted all ATV users, including parents who want to pass on the hobby to their children, because some adults have let their children ride ATVs unsupervised or have ridden irresponsibly themselves, either by damaging land or operating under the influence.
"I have no problem with that at all," Anderson says of the stepped-up fines for using an ATV while intoxicated. "Responsible riders agree something can always be done to enhance the safety of the sport ... but the state is using a pretty wide brush here." He also maintains that data on ATV accidents have been misinterpreted in some cases, exaggerating the risk of the machines.
One of the issues that's been a friction point is where ATVs can be ridden; there have been clashes with hikers and other outdoor users over the years. DCR has some 117 miles of trails in state forests that are open to ORVs, but most of that is in the Berkshires. ATV users say they're forced to do much of their riding on private property as a consequence.
Willard, the Chesterfield resident, says he hasn't ridden ATVs - what he calls "quads" - much himself over the years. His main interest today is in using off-road trucks with jacked-up wheels to go "rock crawling," or navigating boulders and rocky ledges.
But his 10-year-old son, D,J., is at the age where he's interested in exploring ORVs. He's ridden a go-cart so far, his father says. The new regulations will make that more problematic.
Willard's hope is that the new law will be aimed at eliminating obvious abuses in ATV usage, like riding on hiking trails or while intoxicated, and not so much at families who are teaching their children to ride on their own property.
For his part, Anderson says his group is still examining the new law and waiting to see how the fine print will be sorted out. He adds, though, that the provision allowing younger children to ride ORVs in supervised events could provide a good learning opportunity.
He notes, for example, that some community groups in Westfield have secured a grant from DCR to develop an ATV park for young riders and their families, with riding trails and programs that look at the legal use of ATVs on private and public property.
"If this kind of thing is done right, it could be a real benefit for the young riding community," says Anderson.
Comments
Foolish Law
My son has been riding off-road vehicles since he was five years old. He has been hurt more falling off of his bicycle than riding his quad or dirt bike. I truly believe that in order to install good sportsmanship and respect for the power behind an ATV, as well as respect for the land they use them on, children should be taught how to ride at a young age. I think this new law is a big mistake. Why not teach a kid how to ride when they are young and have some natural fear? Teenagers naturally have an invincibility complex and putting them on an ATV for the first time at 14 could prove to be problematic or dangerous.
Seriously?
My sister in law has been hurt more times riding her horses over the years than my husband and kids have ever been hurt riding quads or dirtbikes. I agree with Mr. Willard, laws are being made today that take the responsibility away from parents and put in the hands of lawmakers.
Thank you very much I can take responsibility for the raising of my children and thus far they have not been hurt ever more serious that a few scrapes or black and blues.