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A legislative committee is looking for new ways to approach the safety regulation of all-terrain vehicles. Sources said this will
be the ninth year the issue has been brought before the legislature.
One of the frequent "solutions" suggested in the legislature is to have the 55 counties devise their own laws regulating ATVs.
Towns can already regulate the vehicles. Sen. Herb Snyder, a co-chairman of the interim committee, has made what some
call "pass the buck legislation" this year. ATV operators would have to carry a handbook to remind them about regulations
from county to county.
Some of the previously proposed regulations appeared to have little to do with safety requirements.
They have focused on private land issues and law enforcement, such as extending the "hot pursuit" laws to allow officers to
go on private property chasing an ATV rider.
Currently, a memo issued to State Police, based on an attorney general's opinion, tells troopers that operators using ATVs
on highways should have driver's licenses and certain safety equipment, but not necessarily insurance. Delegate Corey
Palumbo, D-Kanawha asked how many ATV operators flee when troopers try to stop them. An officer replied, "I would
say a majority of them do."
Leff Moore, a lobbyist for the West Virginia Recreational Vehicle Dealers Association, said ATV manufacturers have been
going to great lengths to tell buyers that ATVs are not road-worthy and most are not built to carry passengers.
Most four-wheeler owners advocate for their "rights" to use the vehicles on hard roads. They were never intended to be used
on hard roads and become unstable, he said. He says the public is aware of the safety rules, but tend to ignore them.
West Virginia has the highest number of deaths and injuries, especially among children, according to Moore.
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