Off-road vehicles pose twin threat to safety, environment
- Thread starter Ben Ruset
- Start date
Just an other example of spinning something to promote your own agenda...
mentions the deaths in the first sentence then never makes mention of it again...
Where the part about the parents who purchased the machines for the kids who died.... Persons under 18 can not legally purchase ATV or dirt bikes in this or any state. Nor can they legally enter into a contract to buy one or submit any paperwork to the state. There are laws on the books in this state already for registering these types of vehicles, no mention of that. So the machine were purchased by the parents, and allowed to ride unsupervised and where ever they wanted because their parents just didn't act responsibly...
mentions the deaths in the first sentence then never makes mention of it again...
Where the part about the parents who purchased the machines for the kids who died.... Persons under 18 can not legally purchase ATV or dirt bikes in this or any state. Nor can they legally enter into a contract to buy one or submit any paperwork to the state. There are laws on the books in this state already for registering these types of vehicles, no mention of that. So the machine were purchased by the parents, and allowed to ride unsupervised and where ever they wanted because their parents just didn't act responsibly...
I find it hard to believe that creatures get trapped in the ruts that the vehicles make. That's REALLY stretching it.
Maybe a microbe or something.
Maybe a microbe or something.
Not talking about any disagreement here, just the fact that she used the deaths as an open to voice her opposition to OHV and to push the now 3 times defeated proposed senete and assembly bills... If you notice the name in the by-line and the very end, notice who she is, this is a LETTER TO THE EDITOR, not coverage of a news story anyway...
Overall ATV deaths are actually down by 15% compared to 2003 and for children under the ages of 16 the number of deaths has dropped 28%. Those numbers are from 2003 to 2006.
Link: http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080408/NEWS01/804080365/-1/towns69
While it is very sad for anyone to die, the numbers are dropping, which is encouraging.
I do not want to point fingers because accidents happen and the accident that this women was referring to was very sad but this could have easily been avoided. Just about every rule was broken.
First of all there were 3 people on the ATV, almost every ATV is only allowed to carry 1 person, no passengers at all (except a few ATV's that are purposely built to carry 2 people). The young girl was 13 years old which meant, by law, she was only allowed to operate an ATV up to 80cc's. I saw a picture of the crash and I can't make out the exact model but it was a utility ATV that was much bigger than 80cc's. The accident occured on Route 73, obviously ATV's are not meant and are not allowed on the road, especially route 73. The accident also happened at 11:00 PM. Why is a 13 year old out at 11:00 PM and she is on a large ATV!
This was all very sad and I can only try to imagine what her parents must be going through. What makes it especially sad is that this could have easily been avoidable.
If this writer wanted to pick on ATV's and the people who operate them, fine, but don't use this accident as an example.
Link: http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080408/NEWS01/804080365/-1/towns69
While it is very sad for anyone to die, the numbers are dropping, which is encouraging.
I do not want to point fingers because accidents happen and the accident that this women was referring to was very sad but this could have easily been avoided. Just about every rule was broken.
First of all there were 3 people on the ATV, almost every ATV is only allowed to carry 1 person, no passengers at all (except a few ATV's that are purposely built to carry 2 people). The young girl was 13 years old which meant, by law, she was only allowed to operate an ATV up to 80cc's. I saw a picture of the crash and I can't make out the exact model but it was a utility ATV that was much bigger than 80cc's. The accident occured on Route 73, obviously ATV's are not meant and are not allowed on the road, especially route 73. The accident also happened at 11:00 PM. Why is a 13 year old out at 11:00 PM and she is on a large ATV!
This was all very sad and I can only try to imagine what her parents must be going through. What makes it especially sad is that this could have easily been avoidable.
If this writer wanted to pick on ATV's and the people who operate them, fine, but don't use this accident as an example.
This is all about Assembly Bill 823 which they think is going to stop illegal ORV use. Guess what? It's not. I agree with some of it, like every ATV should be registered, insured and tagged, but I only agree with that if you give people a place to ride. I feel some of the state forests should be opened to riding. I'm not saying all of them, I'm just saying some of them. There has to be compromise.
They think if your ATV or dirbike is tagged then the police would be able to identify illegal riders. Think about this, they are riding illegally, do you think now they are going to follow the rules and get a tag for their ORV because of some new law.
What it will do and what other similar laws have done is make ORV operators go deeper in the woods or just keep outrunning the rangers when they see them. I have stated on here before that the rangers can't catch you on an ORV. They only catch the people who stop, mostly newbies or out of staters who think you can ride in the state forests.
Some of my friends and their riding buddies have now resorted to riding at night and I mean like overnight! They figure there are less people in the woods and less of a chance to run into the park police. They have purchased special off road racing lights (like the ones used in the Baja 1000) that literally turn night into day. They also utilize maps, GPS and 2 way radios to communicate with each other. Lets just say they are very resourceful.
I'm not saying what they are doing is right but that is how far some people are willing to take it just to ride. People have to remember that off road riding, racing, enduros and hare scrambles go back to the 1930's in this area. A lot of these big enduros were grandfathered in. I think that is why some people feel they have the right to ride in the forests because their father and grandfather may have done it for years. Now you are going to tell them to just stop and say there is no place to ride.
It is such a sticky situation and I know people get reved up over this (no pun intended). I feel there just has to be a compromise. If you feel ATV's shouldn't be run in the forest at all I also say ban all motor vehicles then, because I can do just as much damage with my truck or car.
By the way, I'm out in the pines almost every weekend I honestly can say I can't remember the last time I saw an ATV out there. I have seen some road legal enduro bikes but no dirtbikes or ATVs. I also don't see all the damage that has supposedly occured from ATVs. They make it seem like the every inch of the forest has been destroyed. If you think that way I suggest you take a look at some of the older aerial shots of the pine barrens. They really show how much the forest has changed in the past 70 years, a lot of it, if not all of it, from humans. Think of all the logging, the roads being built, houses, illegal dumping, superfund clean up sites, forest fires started by the air force, plow lines made by the forest fire service, pesticides, nah that had nothing to do with it. It was all the ATV's.
The park in Chatsworth was great, while it lasted. That closes in September and the state went back on their promise of building 2 off road parks.
The local Atlantic Grand Prix series director has said putting on an off road event in PA, NY, MD and DE is easy, in NJ it is 10x more difficult. His races even run on private property and the state makes it so hard. The entire series was geared towards ATVs and was to give those riders another option. You would think the state of NJ would be onboard because it would help get riders out of the woods but no, they have made it extremely difficult. So even when someone, using private land, wanted to help out the state made it tough.
I spoke to the owner of Mt. Holly Powersports the other day and he said ATV and dirtbike sales are down but dualsport bikes were up. This is how you get around "the problem" if you want to ride legally. You purchase a dualsport which means it is legal for the road but is just like a dirtibike. Since it is legal for the road you can ride it in the state forests. Now why is that okay but having a regular dirtbike isn't? You can do the same amount of damage. Oh, thank god, the motorcycle is street legal, they can't do any damage to the pines. <---sarcasm Have you seen some of the DOT approved knobby tires, they look just like any other dirtbike tire.
I could go on and on, this frustrates me to no end. I have ridden for over 20 years and I want to continue doing it. I don't destroy trees, shrubs, plants and I don't rip up wetlands area. I just want a trail to cruise down on nice day!
They think if your ATV or dirbike is tagged then the police would be able to identify illegal riders. Think about this, they are riding illegally, do you think now they are going to follow the rules and get a tag for their ORV because of some new law.
What it will do and what other similar laws have done is make ORV operators go deeper in the woods or just keep outrunning the rangers when they see them. I have stated on here before that the rangers can't catch you on an ORV. They only catch the people who stop, mostly newbies or out of staters who think you can ride in the state forests.
Some of my friends and their riding buddies have now resorted to riding at night and I mean like overnight! They figure there are less people in the woods and less of a chance to run into the park police. They have purchased special off road racing lights (like the ones used in the Baja 1000) that literally turn night into day. They also utilize maps, GPS and 2 way radios to communicate with each other. Lets just say they are very resourceful.
I'm not saying what they are doing is right but that is how far some people are willing to take it just to ride. People have to remember that off road riding, racing, enduros and hare scrambles go back to the 1930's in this area. A lot of these big enduros were grandfathered in. I think that is why some people feel they have the right to ride in the forests because their father and grandfather may have done it for years. Now you are going to tell them to just stop and say there is no place to ride.
It is such a sticky situation and I know people get reved up over this (no pun intended). I feel there just has to be a compromise. If you feel ATV's shouldn't be run in the forest at all I also say ban all motor vehicles then, because I can do just as much damage with my truck or car.
By the way, I'm out in the pines almost every weekend I honestly can say I can't remember the last time I saw an ATV out there. I have seen some road legal enduro bikes but no dirtbikes or ATVs. I also don't see all the damage that has supposedly occured from ATVs. They make it seem like the every inch of the forest has been destroyed. If you think that way I suggest you take a look at some of the older aerial shots of the pine barrens. They really show how much the forest has changed in the past 70 years, a lot of it, if not all of it, from humans. Think of all the logging, the roads being built, houses, illegal dumping, superfund clean up sites, forest fires started by the air force, plow lines made by the forest fire service, pesticides, nah that had nothing to do with it. It was all the ATV's.
The park in Chatsworth was great, while it lasted. That closes in September and the state went back on their promise of building 2 off road parks.
The local Atlantic Grand Prix series director has said putting on an off road event in PA, NY, MD and DE is easy, in NJ it is 10x more difficult. His races even run on private property and the state makes it so hard. The entire series was geared towards ATVs and was to give those riders another option. You would think the state of NJ would be onboard because it would help get riders out of the woods but no, they have made it extremely difficult. So even when someone, using private land, wanted to help out the state made it tough.
I spoke to the owner of Mt. Holly Powersports the other day and he said ATV and dirtbike sales are down but dualsport bikes were up. This is how you get around "the problem" if you want to ride legally. You purchase a dualsport which means it is legal for the road but is just like a dirtibike. Since it is legal for the road you can ride it in the state forests. Now why is that okay but having a regular dirtbike isn't? You can do the same amount of damage. Oh, thank god, the motorcycle is street legal, they can't do any damage to the pines. <---sarcasm Have you seen some of the DOT approved knobby tires, they look just like any other dirtbike tire.
I could go on and on, this frustrates me to no end. I have ridden for over 20 years and I want to continue doing it. I don't destroy trees, shrubs, plants and I don't rip up wetlands area. I just want a trail to cruise down on nice day!
I've seen a good amount of destruction from off road vehicle use. I've seen vernal pools obliterated and destroyed, pine snake nesting sites destroyed...I think it would be great if they were registered...the money could be used for a good cause at least.
As long as the people who have to PAY MONEY for registration get designated state lands to ride on in return, they will be more then happy to register them.
Which is all the more reason to get riders out of the woods onto designated places to ride.
Well, riders in North Jersey should get places, riders in Central Jersey should get their places, and riders in South Jersey should get their places.
I think if you only had woods to ride in, it'd probably get boring. Variety is the spice of life.