ATV LEGISLATION ON FAST TRACK - Issue Up For Eighth Year

(08/04/2003)

ATV legislation is gearing up for the eight year, even though the next session of of the Legislature isn't until next year. Supporters of safety rules for all-terrain vehicles are preparing for a fight. At least two 13-year-olds have been killed on ATVs in the past few weeks, with West Virginia having the highest death rate in the nation, and being one of only six states in the US that does not have safety regulations. An interim subcommittee of the legislature has passed a sweeping draft bill that would bar the vehicles from all paved and unpaved public roads. It would require helmets for riders under age 18. Young riders would also be barred from carrying passengers, and would have to take continuous safety courses. Landowners have disagreed with provisions which control their usage on private property. One provision surfaced last year which would likely have allowed police to go on private property without a search warrant if they suspicioned the law was being violated by an ATV operator. The current draft includes several different provisions from several different bills that have failed to pass in recent years.

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