Summer heats up four-wheeler concerns

Melissa Lore

As the weather gets warmer and schools are dismissed for the summer, officers of the law all over the county are working to maintain the safety of residents and are battling the use of all-terrain vehicles (ATV’s), specifically four wheelers, on the city streets and highways.

According to the Arkansas Motor Vehicle and Traffic Laws and State Highway Commission Regulations, “it shall be unlawful for any person to operate an all-terrain vehicle upon the public streets and highways of this state,” with the exceptions of use in farming or hunting operations, when the vehicle is on the public street or highway in order to get from one field to another. Exceptions are made for specific handicaps.

Regarding juveniles, the law stipulates that a person 12 years of age or older is allowed to operate an ATV, but under 12 must be supervised by an adult over the age of 18. The regulations also stipulate that the ATV shall not be operated at a rate of speed greater than is reasonable and proper under the conditions then existing and during the hours from one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise, headlights and taillights shall be displayed.

While this law is in place, local agencies do try to help the citizens out with enforcement.

“If we get a call about ATVs on the road, we tell the driver to take it home and park it,” Jackson County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Charles Vaughn said. “If they’re showing out though, we’re going to write a ticket,” he added.

Much of the Sheriff Department’s response to calls is for four wheelers that are tearing up the roads. Vaughn said that they used to have a tremendous number of calls in the county, but haven’t seen that many lately.

While the county may not be responding to many, the smaller communities are really concerned about the safety of their residents, especially teenagers, at this time of year.

“It’s a bad situation,” Tuckerman Chief Johnathan Tubbs said. “A few people can mess it up for everybody.”

Tuckerman passed an ordinance in 2000 making the rules even stricter on ATVs than the states, including every type of all-terrain vehicle, excluding only golf carts, riding lawnmowers or lawn or garden tractors, and setting the fine at no more than $50 for the first violation and no more than $100 for further violations.

“We try to just allow the officers to issue warnings, but if we see an increase of disobedience or repeat offenders, we will issue citations,” Tubbs said, emphasizing that “it’s a country town and we’re trying to take it easy.”
Tubbs added that the four wheeler issue is one of his and Mayor Everett King’s major concerns. The ordinance Tuckerman follows was passed during the mayor’s previous term.
Other communities in the county seem to feel the same, while not trying to penalize citizens for having fun, they are doing their best to uphold the law and ensure safety of both the riders of the ATV and those around them.

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