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ATV BILL NOW IN COMPROMISE - Industry Opposed To West Virginia's Bill |
| (02/25/2003) |
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The bill requires those under 18 to wear helmets while riding ATVs. It also requires a safety course for younger riders. It still has a provision to allow ATVs to be operated on paved roads which don't have a line down the middle. The vehicles would be prohibited on center-line roads. A compromise made yesterday says operation of ATVs on private property are exempt from the provisions. Those riding them on property on which they have permission would also be exempt from the regulations. Randolph County Senator Mike Ross says personal property rights are important to state residents. "Whoever can speak to what is in that bill right now is smarter than me," said Leff Moore, an ATV-industry safety lobbyist. "As I understand it, the lawyers have been called in and ordered to do another rewrite." Moore said the bill is flawed insofar as safety is concerned. "There are provisions for allowing people to ride ATVs on paved roads, which is something the industry flatly opposes," he said. "It just isn't safe." According to safety information published by all the major ATV manufacturers, two design components of the four-wheeled make them patently unsafe to be ridden on paved surfaces. "ATV tires are like balloons," Moore said. "They only have 3 or 4 pounds of air pressure in them, which makes them more balloon-like than a basketball. Even in a gentle curve, the outside front tire's sidewall gets rolled under. When the rim hits the pavement, the ATV flips over." Moore said ATVs' fixed rear axles also render them unsafe on pavement. Moore said the safety provision currently in the bill requiring helmets for riders age 18 and under, but preventing enforcement on private property -- isn't nearly enough. "We need helmet requirements for everyone, we need provisions against multiple riders, and we need to get these vehicles off the highways," he said. "The industry preaches from the mountaintop that anything short of that isn't safe." Officials who manage West Virginia's public lands said the road-riding provisions would provide a avenue for ATVs to be ridden on state parks, forests and wildlife management areas. It was unclear if yesterday's compromise version covered the riding of ATV's in state parks. |
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