Ohio

Recent Legislative Action

2009

HB2: Requires visible decals or plates on all ORVs and permits ORV fund revenues to be spent on law enforcement and safety programs (4/1/09: Signed in to law)

HB1: Includes snowmobiles and off-road motorcycles to HB 2's private property trespass penalties. (7/17/09: Signed in to law)

Community Voices Demand Action in Ohio

Ohioans are increasingly voicing their concerns about a growing contingent of reckless riders who break the law, damage public and private land, injure themselves and others, and ruin hunting, fishing and hiking experiences for the rest of us.

• "ATVs have an abysmal record in Ohio's public forests. Although permits are required and rules say riders must stay on trails, observe safety rules and avoid damage to the land, riders routinely go off-trail, ripping up hillsides and hastening erosion. They blast through creeks, fouling the water. Loud ATV engines scare off wildlife and disturb hikers and birders. ATV riders also have a history of ignoring private-property signs and riding onto adjoining private forests, continuing the damage there...Many riders are law-abiding, but the bad actors have done harm that might be irreparable." -- The Columbus Dispatch Editorial Board, "Watch the woods", The Columbus Dispatch (4/3/09)

• "This is a problem the sheriff's office, myself and the juvenile prosecutor has been dealing with for years, and it's not something we've disregarded. It's more of a matter of time to catch them, number one, and number two, having the manpower to do that." -- Bob Skelton, Coshocton City Law Director, " Joyriding in the red sea targeted by area lawmen", Coshocton Tribune (4/19/10)

• "They are starting to ride on the hill and we need to stop this. It's causing ruts and killing the vegetation...That can get expensive." -- Tom Hitchcock, St. Marys Safety-Service Director, "ATVs causing issues", The Evening Leader (3/3/09)

• "Trespassing has been a problem, especially ATVs tearing up the property." -- Jeff Rennie, spokesman for America Electric Power, "Thrill of hunt expands; Deer season to get boost with added 10,000 acres in southern Ohio", Cleveland Plain Dealer (11/22/08)

• "I'd like to see one strike and you're out. If they run over your beans, you should be able to take their ATV." -- Dwight Beery, farmer, "Ross County farmers want to toughen ATV legislation", Chillicothe Gazette (6/16/10)

• "The lack of common-sense state law to encourage the safe use of all-terrain vehicles is hard to justify...Manufacturers make a number of safety recommendations...But many ATV riders ignore those recommendations. Free training offered by industry groups and organizations such as Ohio State University's Extension office attracts relatively few takers...Just as state law requires training to drive a car and mandates the use of seat belts, it should require training for anyone riding an ATV and, at minimum, mandate that children riding ATVs wear helmets…ignoring the most elemental protection for Ohio's children is folly." -- Columbus Dispatch Editorial Board, "Common sense; Growing injury toll from ATVs shows lawmakers should require basic safety", The Columbus Dispatch (10/8/08)

•  “We needed to step things up so residents don’t feel threatened and our parks aren’t torn up. -- Christine Matacic, Trustee, Liberty Township, "ATVs not welcome in Liberty Township parks", Cincinnati Enquirer (4/21/10)
  

• "We've had steadily increasing numbers of [court cases involving ORV misuse]. It's a real problem." -- Judge Mark Repp, Tiffin Municipal Court Judge, "ATV misues rising", The Adviser-Tribune (5/5/08)

• "You can be in the house with the windows closed and not be able to hear the TV... Though residents called deputies, there was no law being broken... We really had no recourse to be able to stop this." -- Paula Goetz, of Rose Petal, "ATV riders subject to fines", The Cincinnati Enquirer (9/19/07)

• "It was determined that there are some real problems throughout Boone County as it relates to ATV usage." -- Tim Williams, Assistant County Administrator, "ATV noise fines proposed", The Cincinnati Enquirer (8/22/07)

Examples of Recent ORV-Related Law Enforcement Activity

Source: United States Forest Service

2008

• On 6/13, LEI, Ohio DNR, and Lawrence County SD personnel participated in a special detail at Timber Ridge Lake on the Ironton RD to address reports of illegal ATV use and parties in the area. As a result of their efforts, five drug-related and three littering citations were issued.

• Wayne NF - In March 2007, LEI was notified that the Washington County SD responded to a shooting at the Haught Run CG on the Athens RD. Two campers (a father and son), armed with a shotgun and a .22 caliber pistol confronted a group of illegal ATV riders because of the noise they were making. An intoxicated individual in the ATV group struck the son. The father shot the ATV rider in the abdomen with the pistol. The father was arrested and charged with felonious assault. The son was arrested and charged with tampering with evidence. Both stood trial in the Washington County Courthouse. In March, the son was convicted on 1 count of tampering with evidence and sentenced to serve 180 days in jail. On 5/30, the father was convicted on two counts of felonious assault and sentenced to serve two years in jail.

• Wayne NF - On 9/1, a man from Marion, OH was apparently shot in the leg at an FS ORV area. The victim was met by a Lawrence County SD deputy and escorted to a nearby hospital. The man refused treatment and was released from the hospital. The man's fiancée later told an LEO that the shooting was the result of an altercation that took place with unidentified campers at the Hanging Rock ORV area on the Ironton RD. The altercation involved intoxicated individuals who attempted to use a hatchet and an ATV to strike one of them. There are no identified witnesses to the shooting.

• Wayne NF - On 9/1, a female passenger was ejected off an ATV and hit a tree at the Hanging Rock ORV area on the Ironton RD. A Lawrence County SD Deputy responded to the incident. The woman was transported to a local hospital with facial injuries. The driver was arrested on a warrant for a parole violation.

Recent ORV-Related Media Coverage