Off-roading means off the road, for now

BY WENDY BIRD

All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) use has grown over the last few years thanks to warmer weather and decreased snowfall. But what is also growing is the problem of people riding their ATVs on area roads.

"People are under the impression that it's OK to access area trails by taking these side roads and they're not going to bother anyone," said Constable Bert Lapalme, media relations officer with the Greater Sudbury Police Service.

"But according to the highway traffic act, ATVs do not meet the definition of a motor vehicle. Therefore they are not permitted on any road, street, highway, or anything else that is defined by the highway traffic act as being a highway."

This means riding in ditches alongside a highway, or riding on the shoulder of a road is also illegal.

Local ATV enthusiast Cory Smith appreciates the concern local police have when it comes to getting people off the road.

"As an avid ATVer myself, my goal is not to ride around on paved streets," he said. "My goal is to get out of town to the bush. ATVs don't belong on the walking trails, biking trails or sidewalks. But unfortunately there are so many people out there with so little real guidance."

Smith is a representative with the Greater Sudbury chapter of the North Simcoe ATV Club, which is part of the Ontario Federation of ATVs. This newly formed group is working on a bylaw that would allow some road access within Greater Sudbury so that people can get out of the city up to Crown land.

"At this point in time the only place people can legally ride their ATV is on Crown land. Legally a person needs to either throw their ATV in a trailer or in the back of a truck and bring it out to Crown land or any private property that they either own or have written permission to use," he said.

Smith lives in Val Caron and uses Crown land north of Hanmer and Capreol during his ATV outings. He also has 180 acres of property on Manitoulin Island on which he can "play."

The group Smith belongs to has about 50 members and meets on a monthly basis at Tom Davies Square. Members have been busy consulting with the city and local police and are still in "the very early stages" of putting a bylaw proposal together.

"There are challenges, but they are no different than what the snowmobilers had to go through (when they first got their trail system up-and-running)," Smith said.

Other cities that have passed bylaws to enable ATV riders to use designated routes on their way to ATV trails include Elliott Lake, Espanola and Sturgeon Falls.

Smith added that there are huge opportunities for tourism if Greater Sudbury became more ATV-friendly. For example, Smith and his wife, along with a group of friends, travel to Elliott Lake every year to spend a weekend using "the phenomenal trail system they have up there."

But until a bylaw is passed that will allow ATV operators to access area roads en route to local trails, city police are stepping up enforcement.

"We've had concerns with ATVs for years," LaPalme said. "But especially now as they've become more popular. We're going to see more enforcement and more patrolling since the formation of the rural squad that was created in last six months."

The group of uniformed police officers work out of the Lionel Lalonde Centre in Azilda and they frequently head out on ATVs as part of their patrolling duties. Police travel to complaint areas from across the city, however more complaints have been logged this year from the Hanmer and Chelmsford areas.

"As a result of using the quads the officers have more accessibility. This is their first summer and we are going to see more tickets handed out this year," LaPalme said.

Recently police spotted a group of four ATVs and their drivers stopped on the side of a road in the Hanmer area. As they were about to pull over and talk to the drivers, the group drove off. One of the ATV operators stopped a short distance away and was subsequently issued a ticket for unlawfully driving an off-road motor vehicle on a highway.

Later that day the officers located the other riders and all three were charged with "escape by flight," careless driving and unlawfully driving an off-road motor vehicle on a highway. The fine for "escape by flight" ranges from $10,000 to $25,000 and/or six months in jail. The offenders were 17 to 23 years of age.

"Word of mouth is we (the police) are enforcing the rules," LaPalme said. "So people need to find out what the rules are, find out where the legal trails are, stick to those trails and they shouldn't have a problem."

But Smith concedes that people are legitimately confused about where they can and cannot ride.

"Just because there isn't a no-trespassing sign or a fence up, that doesn't give (a person) the right to run across these peoples' property. But there are a lot of people out there that don't realize they are driving across private property," he said.

The newly formed local chapter of ATV enthusiasts is hoping to clear up some of the confusion. And Smith said the organization's aim is to promote education and safety.

"Most ATV owners know they are not allowed on the roads," LaPalme said. "So ignorance is not an excuse. An ATV was never built to be on a street or a road ... it's meant to be driven off-road. (In terms of safety), the way the machine has been built, it is not designed for pavement or asphalt.

"We hear of the incidents and we know it doesn't take a lot of speed for these machines to get out of control. They are a difficult machine to maneuver, even off-road where they are meant to be."

If they have the owners' permission, police officers can issue tickets to ATV riders who are using private property without permission.

"There are very few trails that are designed for ATV use in the City of Greater Sudbury," LaPalme added. "A lot of it is private property and we are getting a lot of complaints from property owners."

Most fines for ATV infractions are about $90, prior to any court-imposed surcharges. The fine for riding without a helmet is $65, while the fine for driving an ATV without insurance is $265. For more information or to launch any complaints, call the police service at 675-9171.

For those interested in checking out the new ATV chapter in Greater Sudbury, Smith encourages people to come to the meetings held the last Wednesday of each month, at 7:30 pm in room C-112 at Tom Davies Square.