ATV Accident News: ATV Riders Find ATV Laws Confusing
Ohio ATV Accident Reports Continue As Residents Find ATV Riding Laws Confusing
As Ohio residents are finding ATV riding laws confusing, Ohio ATV accidents have frequented the news far to often in recent months. In the past few months, a man from Cape Cod was seriously injured and hospitalized after crashing in his ATV. Another man was driving an ATV and was involved in a serious rollover crash. Another man was killed in a rollover ATV accident in Wisconsin. A young child was killed when the ATV he was driving crashed. Although not all of these accidents occurred in Ohio, ambiguous ATV laws could be contributing to the rise in ATV accidents.
According to a recent report by the Ohio News Herald, Ohio ATV drivers find the ATV laws confusing, even if they have been driving ATV vehicles for years. According to Ohio ATV drivers, there is a “grey area” on what you can and cannot do while driving ATV vehicles in Ohio. Some drivers even go to nearby West Virginia or Pennsylvania rather than drive in Ohio where ATV laws are unclear.
Ohio not only has unclear state laws on ATVs, but individual counties and cities in Ohio also can create their own ATV laws. This means that what is legal in one area of Ohio may be illegal in another area. The Ohio Motorized Trails Association states that three-fourths of all Ohio-based ATV trails are located in Wayne National Forest. Other areas of the state have no designated public trails and require riders to use ATVs on private property or public roadways. [http://www.news-herald.com/general-news/20130723/ohio-atv-riders-unsure-where-to-ride-with-confusing-state-local-laws, October 2015]
However, some ATV drivers state that they have been issued tickets or warnings for operating ATVs on public roadways, even though the Ohio state code states that it is legal to ride ATVs on public roadways if the driver is over age 16, has a driver’s license, and is following all safety regulations. According to court records from the Painesville Municipal Court, ATV citations vary from year to year and are not always issued for the same violations.
Much of the confusion arises over whether ATVs can be driven on township and county roads. According to the Ohio News Herald report, the Ohio Highway Patrol has cited several ATV drivers for driving on county roads, which the driver thought was legal. Some ATV drivers report being cited dozens of times by police in several areas of Ohio for different supposed violations.
Current Ohio law states that an ATV driver riding on an unpermitted road could face a minor misdemeanor citation. The Ohio Revised Code only states that ATVs can cross state routes and cannot drive on “limited-access highways” like Route 44, Interstate 90 and Route 2. Regulation of local roads is left to local municipalities. Some cities in Ohio have determined that no public roadways are permissible for ATV driving. Other cities require a license plate and an official Ohio driver’s licence. Even a complaint from a neighbor or someone else on the road could result in a citation for an ATV driver, even if the driver is operating the ATV lawfully.
If you have been a victim of an Ohio ATV accident contact the experienced personal injury lawyers at Wright & Schulte LLC by calling 937-222-7477 or visit www.yourohiolegalhelp.com for more information and news on ATV accidents and other Ohio crash and injury information.
capecodtimes.com/article/20151005/NEWS/151009705/101015 October 2015]
[wdtv.com/wdtv.cfm?func=view§ion=5-News&item=One-Injured-in-Barbour-County-ATV-Rollover-25963 October, 2015] [weau.com/home/headlines/One-person-dead-after-fatal-ATV-accident-in-Vernon-County-330582451.html October 2015]
[http://www.kwwl.com/story/30181755/2015/10/04/four-year-old-dies-in-atv-accident, October 2015]
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