[Threerun]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

Back when my wife and I first moved up to rural AL, and when our neighbors (who were religious and strict on many things) were on vacation, we had a night of GOBs deciding to use the area for drag racing. I loaded up my long rifle, got a big flashlight, and sat on the porch of the old house on the property. Whenever I saw them, I shown the light, smiled, and showed the long gun. No need to call a sheriff, no muss no fuss, they understood country manners. I'm not sure that would hold in your area now - which seems to be making the news.

75 YO man using a muzzle loader to repel home invaders? Vigilantes trying to find and stop a repeat tip and run offender? The Georgia in the south ain't that bad.

Back in WV I took care of some punk kids that turned a 'community' 15 acre lot into a party zone and a mud bog. My property was adjacent to the 'party' zone. Used to keep me up at night. It was one road in one road out. Golf balls, 3" deck screws drilled thru 5-6 times, snip the screw end at an angle. Quick brown spray paint. Load up a bucket, put them in shallow ruts in the dirt road leading in and out.

I took my coonhound out with a flashlight, she starts baying. Punks go quiet wondering about the dog, I fire a few shots they scatter and drive like bats out of there. About 1/2 mile down the road there's a number of vehicles stranded with tires blown and they gotta walk 2 or miles for cell reception.

I slept like a baby after that, lol.

[Riley.]

Originally Posted by Threerun

Actually irresponsible behavior (here) occurs mostly out on the trails. One of the Scouts in our last troop built a jackleg fence around a mountain lake that the numbskulls would turn into a mudhole- destroying the vegetation. The lake is a cutthroat trout recovery project, and that buffer is needed for water clarity.

The Forest Service is seriously considering shutting down trails due to irresponsible behavior like that. Trust me- I'm not a pollyanna on the issue of ATV's, but most of the OTR drivers I see are licensed and follow the rules of the law. A deputy is just an inclined to cite an irresponsible ATV operator or vehicle driver.

Our officers will not cite and they will not chase. And since there is really no enforcement (even on the roads) there is an entrenched mentality that they can do what they want and not get caught (the irresponsible riders) - the expression is "I'm from Vermont and I do what I want." not even kidding.

[Threerun]

Wow. Too bad.

[Summerz88]

Last few years our Police finally have been taking an active role to cut down on unruly ATV activity. Much quieter. It was awful for a time. Course summer will bring them out of the woodwork. Some of the violators flipped their ATVs right on main road,, hard to hide that fact…
We used to be on rescue, still like having a scanner in the house so we also hear about other events, complaints.

[Wartrace]

I am not a Vermont resident but have experienced people riding ATV's on the roads here in Tennessee. Our law is that the only time you can ride on the road is if you're engaged in agricultural activity. This law is not enforced as far as I can tell as I have seen kids ride right past a sheriff's deputy parked in our town square chatting with the town policeman. I have a neighbor thats a sheriffs deputy in a neighboring county and even he rides his ATV up and down the road on occasion.

The only thing I dislike about them are:
1) They are loud. Some people like to make them louder than factory. I guess they enjoy making noise or equate noise to power. I don't know what they are thinking. I live quite a ways from the road 200 yards +/- and I can still hear them inside my house.
2) They tend to disregard basic traffic laws. I almost killed a guy, his wife/girlfriend and infant child one day. I live on a narrow road with hairpin turns. This clown came around the hairpin hugging the inside of it and I was forced off the road. They weren't wearing helmets. The kick in the nutz was the guy flipped ME off as he drove away as if I had done something wrong. A lot of times I see them riding two and three abreast on my road taking up the whole road.
3) No insurance. Who is going to pay for my vehicle if I collide with one of these riders?

From what I see people decide to "move out to the country" so they buy an acre lot. Once "in the country" they think they need an ATV because there is so much "open land" and they figure they can ride them anywhere. Once they get run off by land owners they have no other place to ride but their yard or the roads.

[212david51]

In South Dakota you can get your ATV/UTV licensed as a motorcycle (even with four wheels) and drive them on all the roads except for the interstate. They have to have blinkers, lights, brake lights and horn. The safest are UTVs where you are "inside" the unit in an individual seat with three point seat belt and a roll cage. Most of the people that get killed are on the one and two seat ATVs that you straddle and ride like a motorcycle. No seat belt, no roll cage and due to being smaller and low to the ground often do not get seen by cars and trucks. You have to have a regular drivers license (no motorcycle license needed). If you are trying to change the law, UTVs are safer over all than the two seat ATVs.

[Riley.]

Originally Posted by Riley.

Our officers will not cite and they will not chase. And since there is really no enforcement (even on the roads) there is an entrenched mentality that they can do what they want and not get caught (the irresponsible riders) - the expression is "I'm from Vermont and I do what I want." not even kidding.

Quoting my own post.....I've been informed by one of the select board members that officers WILL cite ATVs. That may be. I've never seen it. Game wardens who are out on the trails won't do it, and I've read that quoted in local news sources (take that for what it's worth).
There is no real enforcement for passenger vehicular traffic so I can't imagine there'd be any increase in enforcement for ATVs.
The committee that was formed in my town to 'study' this issue doesn't seem to know what their end game is. Half of them think they themselves are supposed to 'draft a proposal' for the town to vote on after doing research on the issue, half of them think they are simply a fact-finding, study group, who will present info to the voters (like they are going to show up to listen). My feeling is the select board, which is the governing body of the town, should be the ones to craft a policy to vote on.
It's a sh*t show. Strangely, the committee is divided equally. 3 women in FAVOR, 3 men NOT IN FAVOR of ATV use on public roads.
small town stuff.

[Riley.]

Originally Posted by 212david51

In South Dakota you can get your ATV/UTV licensed as a motorcycle (even with four wheels) and drive them on all the roads except for the interstate. They have to have blinkers, lights, brake lights and horn. The safest are UTVs where you are "inside" the unit in an individual seat with three point seat belt and a roll cage. Most of the people that get killed are on the one and two seat ATVs that you straddle and ride like a motorcycle. No seat belt, no roll cage and due to being smaller and low to the ground often do not get seen by cars and trucks. You have to have a regular drivers license (no motorcycle license needed). If you are trying to change the law, UTVs are safer over all than the two seat ATVs.

Thanks for sharing that. I'll need to read the VT statute again, but there is something in the law saying a 12-yr old can ride an ATV (presumably on private property) but also that you have to be licensed to drive an ATV. 12 yr olds can't get a license. smh

[harry chickpea]

Originally Posted by Riley.

Thanks for sharing that. I'll need to read the VT statute again, but there is something in the law saying a 12-yr old can ride an ATV (presumably on private property) but also that you have to be licensed to drive an ATV. 12 yr olds can't get a license. smh

It actually makes perfect sense. A "license" is short for "license by the governing authority to drive on public roadways within the jurisdiction." Typically, they are more a generator of income to offset a small amount of roadwork, and tool for law enforcement than any safety measure. Kids were driving tractor as soon as they could reach the controls when I was growing up. SOME kids can be perfectly safe drivers long before they can drive in public.

[Riley.]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

It actually makes perfect sense. A "license" is short for "license by the governing authority to drive on public roadways within the jurisdiction." Typically, they are more a generator of income to offset a small amount of roadwork, and tool for law enforcement than any safety measure. Kids were driving tractor as soon as they could reach the controls when I was growing up. SOME kids can be perfectly safe drivers long before they can drive in public.

That may well be. I think it is a terrible idea for UNLICENSED 12 YR OLDS driving ATVs on the public roadway.
Someone allows their child to drive a tractor on their own property, that's on them.