Virginia

VirginiaORV Visible Identification

Virginia does not require visible identification on ORVs. 

View our report to learn more about he 37 states that do require visible identification. Learn how Virginia ranks compared to other states on visible identification requirements.

Recent Legislative Action

2009

SB803: Extends laws on ATVs to off-road dirtbikes, including banning on paved roads, prohibitions on private property tresspass, and rider age restrictions (2/10/09: Left in Transportation Committee)

2008

HB460 - Extends ORV laws to include off-road dirt bikes, including age-appropriate vehicle size and private property protections (2/12/08: Sent to House Transportation Committee)

2007

SB1398: Allows any locality to make it a Class 4 misdemeanor to operate an ORV within 500 feet of any household or dwelling (1/19/07: Passed by Senate Local Government Committee)

Community Voices Demand Action in Virginia

Virginians 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.

  • "We are committed to stopping this [ORV] abuse of the national forest and we intend to make those convicted pay to repair the damage. -- John Price, USFS Law Enforcement Officer, USFS Press Release (3/25/09)
  • "I can't open my windows because the dust will get into my home, and now is the time of year that people like to open their windows at night." -- Perry Lynch, 21-year resident of southeastern Chesterfield County, "A 'balance of rights'; Chesterfield considers ways to control privately owned dirt tracks", Richmond Times Dispatch (10/7/07)
  • "George Washington and Jefferson National Forests officials are right to crack down on free-wheeling scofflaws who illegally ride on federal land, particularly when the Forest Service has taken steps to accommodate all-terrain vehicles and off-road motorcycles with designated trails." -- Editorial Board, "A Welcome Crackdown on ATVs in the Forests", Roanoke Times (1/14/07)
  • "We're just going to start taking them...when your $3,000 or $4,000 or $6,000 machine turns up missing and you come to the National Forest Service looking for it, we'll be happy to see that you get it back. But not until you've gotten your ticket." -- Captain Woody Lipps, George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, "National Park Police take aim at ATVs, trail bikes", Associated Press (1/14/07)
  • "Hunters, hikers and citizens of Giles County are quite upset about the high level of abuse that is occurring on public land." -- Teddy Millins, Forest Service Officer with George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, "Forest ATV riders charged: Twelve accused of riding in national forest in Giles County", Richmond Times-Dispatch (1/11/07)
  • "There are just more of them out there. They're fun...[but] unfortunately, many people don't realize just how dangerous they can be." -- Dr. Julie Haizlip, UVA Physician, "SAX player for DMB injured in ATV wreck", Daily Progress (7/2/08)

Recent ORV-Related Media Coverage



Intoxicated ATV driver charged after leading Radford police on chase

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Written by Roanoke Times   
Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Lerone Graham

Police issued charges today stemming from a weekend incident where they chased an intoxicated man driving an ATV.

Officers responded to a call at 11:49 p.m. Sunday by a stranded driver being kept from exiting a vehicle by a man on an ATV holding an axe handle. When officers arrived, the man fled on his ATV and was chased almost two blocks before being thrown from it while making a turn onto Third Street.

Read more... [Intoxicated ATV driver charged after leading Radford police on chase]
 

Blue Ridge Parkway at 75 - diminished views

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Written by The Virginian-Pilot   
Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Diane Tennant

In the middle of a two-lane bridge over the Roanoke River Gorge, Roger Holnback stopped the car and got out.

"I want you to see this," he said.

Read more... [Blue Ridge Parkway at 75 - diminished views]
 

Officials work on George Washington Forest plan

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Written by Associated Press   
Tuesday, March 23, 2010

U.S. Forest Service officials are seeking public input on a new management plan for the George Washington National Forest.

The revised blueprint will guide how the 1.1 million-acre forest is used for the next 15 years. It will address logging and other commercial uses, recreation, road and trail building, drinking-water protection and preservation of the forest's more pristine areas.

Read more... [Officials work on George Washington Forest plan]
 

Rappahannock plan is coming into focus

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Written by Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star   
Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Rusty Dennen

A picture of how Fredericksburg's vast swath of riverfront easement land should be used--or left alone--is beginning to emerge.

A committee will unveil a draft watershed management plan Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. at the University of Mary Washington's Jepson Center. It will outline how the property will be managed for access, recreation and wildlife, and the public will get another chance to weigh in.

Read more... [Rappahannock plan is coming into focus]
 

Public ATV Trail Shut Down

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Written by WSET-TV   
Monday, January 25, 2010

David Tate

Botetourt Co., VA - The region's only public ATV trail system in the George Washington/Jefferson National Forest has been closed indefinitely.

Forest Rangers blame the closure on adverse trail conditions.

Read more... [Public ATV Trail Shut Down]
 

Forest Service closes Botetourt County's Patterson Mountain ATV trail system

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Written by Roanoke Times   
Saturday, January 23, 2010

Laurence Hammack

The U.S. Forest Service has closed an ATV trail system in Botetourt County, where erosion caused by four-wheeling has created high levels of sediment in nearby streams.

After completing water-quality monitoring, the Forest Service decided to close indefinitely the Patterson Mountain ATV Trail System, a 16-mile network that consists of a main route and 10 side trails.

Read more... [Forest Service closes Botetourt County's Patterson Mountain ATV trail system]
 

Off-Road Vehicles Ravage Virginia’s Dry River

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Written by Trout Unlimited Blog   
Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Hannah Moulton Belec

In the winter issue of Trout, David Hart wrote about TU’s conservation work in the Shenandoah Headwaters, fragile brook trout habitat in western and southern Virginia. One of the tributaries Hart reported on was Dry River near Harrisonburg, Va., which has had issues with off-road vehicles carving out illegal trails and, unbelievably, driving across and in the riverbed itself. Check out these amazingly disturbing videos of off-road vehicle users proudly driving through trout streams.

Read more... [Off-Road Vehicles Ravage Virginia’s Dry River]
 

Hanover noise ordinance faces overhaul

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Written by Richmond Times-Dispatch   
Sunday, October 18, 2009

Holly Prestidge

High school public-announcement systems. Barking dogs. Dirt bikes. Motorcycles.

Some or all of these have generated complaints from Hanover County residents about excessive noise.

Read more... [Hanover noise ordinance faces overhaul]
 

Sea turtle closure at Cape Hatteras vandalized by vehicle

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Written by The Virginian-Pilot   
Sunday, September 06, 2009

Catherine Kozak

A protective sea turtle closure in Cape Hatteras National Seashore was vandalized last week, according to a news release from the National Park Service.

The incident was discovered Thursday morning about two-tenths of a mile northeast of Ramp 49 in an area open to off-road vehicle traffic, the statement said.

Read more... [Sea turtle closure at Cape Hatteras vandalized by vehicle]
 

BEACH closures serving as havens for nesting shorebirds vandalized

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Written by The Virginian-Pilot   
Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Catherine Kozak

Two beach closures that protect nesting shorebirds from off-road vehicle and pedestrian traffic were vandalized over the weekend, the National Park Service Outer Banks Group said Monday .

Under the terms of a court-sanctioned agreement, buffers around the enclosures on the beach near Ramp 23 and Ramp 27 were automatically expanded 50 meters, according to a news release. At Ramp 23, just south of Salvo, a barricade closing the ramp to ORVs was broken and tossed aside, and further down the ramp, a sign was damaged. On the beach at Ramp 27, near Avon, a vehicle ran through fencing, broke signs and entered two different resource protection areas.

Read more... [BEACH closures serving as havens for nesting shorebirds vandalized]
 
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State by State Momentum

Community Voices

“During the past decade, I have personally had six out of seven elk hunts ruined by the careless intrusions of ATV operators. This epidemic has forced me to abandon one prime hunting area after another, only to encounter the same situation elsewhere. The shameful part of this picture is that the overwhelming majority of these ATV’ers are young and healthy, not decrepit or physically challenged. Maybe these riders would be more respectful of other people's outdoor experience if they knew we could ID them."

- Bill Sustrich, Colorado Backcountry Hunters and Anglers