Whistler’s local snowmobile club is pleased that the provincial government is considering the adoption of a new set of rules to regulate off-road vehicles.
"I have to go on record and say I am very supportive and it is very necessary and urgently needed," said Nelson Bastien, president of Whistler’s Powder Mountain Snowmobile Club and a director of the B.C. Snowmobile Federation.
"… We realize it is very urgent that we get the licensing and the insurance in place and get some control on this industry."
The proposed recommendations for off-road, non-commercial vehicles come out of a three-year study by a coalition of 11 environmental and recreation organizations with a combined membership of over 120,000.
The recommendations form the substance of a report titled Solutions for a Sustainable Future which was presented to representatives of 11 different ministries last week by the Coalition for the Licensing and Registration of Off Road Vehicles.
The government is now considering the report, which recommends among other things mandatory registration, licensing and use of helmets when riding on public lands.
Initially the Snowmobile Federation chose not to be part of the coalition, said Bastien, but the government made it clear this was the best process to address some of the issues concerning it.
Snowmobilers were not happy with recommendations that money raised through new fees associated with the regulations be used for trails for off-road users such as ATVs
But, said Bastien, he feels there will be recognition that snowmobile clubs need trail money too, it’s just that it will be used for grooming machines and winter trail access.
One of the biggest concerns Bastien believes the new regulations will help address is liability insurance. If every rider has to get insurance then there will be proper coverage if accidents occur.
"…Now (riders) will have to get a licence plate or proper decal so after they knock you down you will hopefully be able to see their licence number so you have someone to go to after," he said.
"And it is going to help us promote safety amongst users."
Bastien would like the government to adopt the recommendations and formulate an Off Road Vehicles Act by the fall of this year or spring of 2007.
"It is really more urgently needed in the Sea to Sky corridor than some of the quiet places off in the Interior because the onslaught of tourists from Seattle and Lower Mainland is incredible," said Bastien.
"It is nothing to have 100 trucks roll in, try and park and unload their sleds on a Sunday morning.
Safety is a driving force behind the push to get the new rules put in place said Beverley Felske, co-chair of the coalition.
"We want some environmental protection, we want some safety, and we want some penalties in place when we need them," she said.
"The problem is that 98 per cent of people are responsible people, but there is that 2 per cent of people out there who are closing areas to motorized recreation by their misbehaviour."
A list of offences and penalties would have to be created as part of the new legislation for off-road vehicles.
"We feel there should be penalties for that sort of thing and it should be under the ORV Act, in other words (an off-road vehicle user) can get charged for say drunk driving," she said.
Felske said making helmets mandatory is an important part of the plan. And the coalition wants a 16-year-old age minimum for off-road vehicles used on or across public land.
However, those proposals have been red-flagged by the 30,000 member B.C. Wildlife Federation, which feels that issue should be handled through education.
But said Felske; "We have already had two deaths this year of ATV people, both happen to be women falling off their ATV, hitting their heads and dying. So we feel that the safety of the general public outweighs one special interest group."
The federation is also concerned about the money from registration going to a special fund. It would rather see it funneled through existing programs.
According to the coalition there are about 70,000 snowmobiles in B.C., 40,000 ATVs and 50,000 dirt bikes. New sales of vehicles are showing an increase of 230 per cent over seven years.
Five people in B.C. a year are killed in off-road vehicles, mostly in the north and the Interior. Many of those are young adults. The Canadian Pediatric Society estimates that about 900 children a year are sent to hospital in Canada from ATV accidents.
Current use is governed by the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act (all terrain), which was introduced in 1972. At the time ATVs weren’t developed. They became available in 1986.
Felske said B.C. is the only province not to have mandatory licensing of off-road vehicles.
Licensing is an essential step because it would allow:
• registered, traceable title to vehicles – assisting owners to insure and sell the ORVs and recover stolen vehicles…
• vehicle owner identification – supporting accountability, enforcement and communication with users;
• a data bank regarding vehicle numbers and location;
• a means to capture social services tax, through used vehicle transfer and cross border sales;
• an awareness amongst all interests that responsible use of ORVs is an acceptable activity in B.C. and that it contributes to B.C.’s economy.
The coalition’s recommendations grew out of discussion in 2002 between the Quad Riders Association of British Columbia and the Grasslands Conservation Council of British Columbia.
Whistler’s local snowmobile club is pleased that the provincial government is considering the adoption of a new set of rules to regulate off-road vehicles.
"I have to go on record and say I am very supportive and it is very necessary and urgently needed," said Nelson Bastien, president of Whistler’s Powder Mountain Snowmobile Club and a director of the B.C. Snowmobile Federation.
"… We realize it is very urgent that we get the licensing and the insurance in place and get some control on this industry."
The proposed recommendations for off-road, non-commercial vehicles come out of a three-year study by a coalition of 11 environmental and recreation organizations with a combined membership of over 120,000.
The recommendations form the substance of a report titled Solutions for a Sustainable Future which was presented to representatives of 11 different ministries last week by the Coalition for the Licensing and Registration of Off Road Vehicles.
The government is now considering the report, which recommends among other things mandatory registration, licensing and use of helmets when riding on public lands.
Initially the Snowmobile Federation chose not to be part of the coalition, said Bastien, but the government made it clear this was the best process to address some of the issues concerning it.
Snowmobilers were not happy with recommendations that money raised through new fees associated with the regulations be used for trails for off-road users such as ATVs
But, said Bastien, he feels there will be recognition that snowmobile clubs need trail money too, it’s just that it will be used for grooming machines and winter trail access.
One of the biggest concerns Bastien believes the new regulations will help address is liability insurance. If every rider has to get insurance then there will be proper coverage if accidents occur.
"…Now (riders) will have to get a licence plate or proper decal so after they knock you down you will hopefully be able to see their licence number so you have someone to go to after," he said.
"And it is going to help us promote safety amongst users."
Bastien would like the government to adopt the recommendations and formulate an Off Road Vehicles Act by the fall of this year or spring of 2007.
"It is really more urgently needed in the Sea to Sky corridor than some of the quiet places off in the Interior because the onslaught of tourists from Seattle and Lower Mainland is incredible," said Bastien.
"It is nothing to have 100 trucks roll in, try and park and unload their sleds on a Sunday morning.
Safety is a driving force behind the push to get the new rules put in place said Beverley Felske, co-chair of the coalition.
"We want some environmental protection, we want some safety, and we want some penalties in place when we need them," she said.
"The problem is that 98 per cent of people are responsible people, but there is that 2 per cent of people out there who are closing areas to motorized recreation by their misbehaviour."
A list of offences and penalties would have to be created as part of the new legislation for off-road vehicles.
"We feel there should be penalties for that sort of thing and it should be under the ORV Act, in other words (an off-road vehicle user) can get charged for say drunk driving," she said.
Felske said making helmets mandatory is an important part of the plan. And the coalition wants a 16-year-old age minimum for off-road vehicles used on or across public land.
However, those proposals have been red-flagged by the 30,000 member B.C. Wildlife Federation, which feels that issue should be handled through education.
But said Felske; "We have already had two deaths this year of ATV people, both happen to be women falling off their ATV, hitting their heads and dying. So we feel that the safety of the general public outweighs one special interest group."
The federation is also concerned about the money from registration going to a special fund. It would rather see it funneled through existing programs.
According to the coalition there are about 70,000 snowmobiles in B.C., 40,000 ATVs and 50,000 dirt bikes. New sales of vehicles are showing an increase of 230 per cent over seven years.
Five people in B.C. a year are killed in off-road vehicles, mostly in the north and the Interior. Many of those are young adults. The Canadian Pediatric Society estimates that about 900 children a year are sent to hospital in Canada from ATV accidents.
Current use is governed by the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act (all terrain), which was introduced in 1972. At the time ATVs weren’t developed. They became available in 1986.
Felske said B.C. is the only province not to have mandatory licensing of off-road vehicles.
Licensing is an essential step because it would allow:
• registered, traceable title to vehicles – assisting owners to insure and sell the ORVs and recover stolen vehicles…
• vehicle owner identification – supporting accountability, enforcement and communication with users;
• a data bank regarding vehicle numbers and location;
• a means to capture social services tax, through used vehicle transfer and cross border sales;
• an awareness amongst all interests that responsible use of ORVs is an acceptable activity in B.C. and that it contributes to B.C.’s economy.
The coalition’s recommendations grew out of discussion in 2002 between the Quad Riders Association of British Columbia and the Grasslands Conservation Council of British Columbia.
