ATV Regulation Enforcements
Wouldn’t it be great if there were only a few dozen handfuls of officers to worry about while on the way to work? There would be little chance of getting a speeding ticket. Maneuvering red lights and stop signs would lapse into a first come first run scenario. It would be grand wouldn’t it?Sure, that sounds preposterous. Motorists, bikers, and pedestrians would fall victim to insensitive drivers who only want their right to the road. In the meantime, if this were how our law enforcement was staffed, the carnage would be widespread. Accidents would accumulate like dust under the bed. Roadways would be filled with injuries and property damage would be great.
Though the DNR is not as understaffed as the scenario described, it does lack enforcement officers to adequately patrol the state’s six million state forest acres. Department personnel cannot do much to regulate speeds on forest trails, keep people who have been drinking off ATVs, or following other ATV regulations.Even the matter of making sure young unlicensed children, or multiples of children, are not driving or riding ATVs unlawfully, is mainly a parent’s responsibility. There are simply not enough DNR officers to patrol state forest trails.Another thing the DNR falls short on is its ability to make sure ATV users drive only on trails designated for ATV use. ATVs are routinely driven into and through forest and wetland areas in direct opposition to laws prohibiting this.
The DNR feels it must do something and is ready to embrace whatever help it can find to monitor and repair state forest trails, and the environment in forests and wetlands. Help is on the horizon in the form of a grant program currently under discussion in the state legislature. If passed, ATV clubs and the DNR would forge a close partnership. ATV clubs would monitor and repair trails. They would also help enforce ATV regulations, monitor the environment, and work to attract more people to ATV recreation as a draw for the state’s tourism.ATV clubs are slated to become the eyes for the DNR But how secure is the environment? What is really being enforced? Some would say environmental death. Others would say recreational freedom reminiscent of the catch phrase of the 1970s: “If it feels good, do it!”