Off-Road Vehicle Rider Voices

We believe reckless ORV riding is causing a growing problem of lawlessness across America, including ruining public lands, trespassing on private property, and vandalism. People are getting fed up. Read what off-road vehicle riders across America are saying.

"I am a responsible ATV owner and voted D (to confiscate the ATV and loss of hunting privileges for a year). I have seen some of my favorite areas destroyed. Just because you own an ATV doesn't give you the right to ride wherever you want." -- Jake Bussio, rider, "Speaking Up", Eastman's Hunting Journal (Feb.-Mar. '10)

“A lot of these folks, they were just independent individuals who left their manners and common sense at home and just let it all out. I’m part of a reputable club and we’re trying to do the right thing and keep the trails in good shape, so we did a little education and asked them to follow the rules. But by Saturday some of them were like, ‘Hey, there’s no enforcement, anything goes!’” -- Ron Rutherford, rider, "Three-day weekend brings out 'idiots'", Yakima Herald (6/7/10)

"We can't continue to utilize the Black Hills in the fashion we have, particularly in the past 10 years. Just because the hill is there doesn't mean we need to climb it and produce another trail. Those ruts are there for years." -- Tom Blair, ORV rider and owner of Whistler Gulch Campground in Deadwood, "Changes coming for ATV riders", Rapid City Journal (10/18/09)

"Proposition one: there are places where machines simply shouldn’t go. Legally, these are our wilderness areas, but more broadly, they might be any mostly pristine environment, especially those places that are very fragile (like centuries old biotic crusts in much of the west), or that "repair" damage very slowly because they are arid, less productive landscapes." -- Rider Bob Engel, "Column: Riding in the dirt", Brattleboro Reformer (5/3/10)

"Wheeling illegally is not a good practice ... you guys give the off road community a bad name and we all suffer." --  Northville High School Off Road Club, "Off-roaders told property is off-limits", Detroit Free Press (7/18/10)

"If we have all these bad apples digging up the mud all over the place...pretty soon no one is going to have a spot to ride." -- Dan Scholl, President Eastern Morrison County 4-Wheeler Club, "Part I: Renegade riders," Minneapolis Star Tribune (9/15/08)

"I love ATVs, but like everything, they have a time and a place. Personally, I'm 73 years old and love to hike and hunt." -- Bob Humphrey, rider, "Speaking Up", Eastman's Hunting Journal (Feb.-Mar. '10)

"I have an ATV. I understand the joy of the sport. But it doesn't take many people not following the rules to turn the public off." -- Vermont State Senate President pro tem Peter Shumlin, "ATV rule splits solons", Rutland Herald (1/10/10)

"Well of course you have to be respectable about it. You can't just be an idiot, you can't go and do
whatever you want. You gotta respect everyone's property." -- rider Ryan Leombruni, "Rockford Council Seeks Stricter ATV Regulations", WIFR-TV (10/19/09)

“I don’t want people riding off the marked trails. It destroys the bikes and destroys the desert. Leave no trace behind, and pack it in, pack it out.” -- Steve Schwarzdach, rider and owner of Wickenburg (AZ) ATV rental company, "Wickenburg ATV rents quads, more for desert fun", The Wickenburg Sun (10/3/09)

"Some people are stringing wire across trails. My buddy ended up in the hospital for a couple of weeks," -- Dan Buske, rider, of West Milford, "New law to increase opportunities, and costs, for N.J. ATV operators", The Star Ledger (1/24/10)

"I find that the Oceano Dunes are a great place to roam and mob around with off-highway vehicles. But to tell you the truth, I like to breathe a lot more than doing such recreational activities. Studies have shown that the high levels of dust being blown are polluting the Oceano residents’ air. It is considered a serious health hazard by the Air Pollution Control District. An easy solution to this is limiting the number of users each weekend or simply closing the Dunes down for good." -- Parker Patterson, rider, "Letter: Stop the Pollution", San Luis Obispo Tribune (4/19/10)

"People go out and ride wherever they want now." -- Jason Shelley, rider, "Opinions vary on Payson off-road track", Deseret News (1/28/10)

"I have run into these guys myself. They have cussed me out and kicked up dirt in my face." -- Ray Pessa, president of Friends of Giant Rock, "Two ways of life collide in Wonder Valley", Los Angeles Times (1/5/10)

"It costs the local Forest Service district and county taxpayers thousands of dollars to restore pieces of land chewed up by four-wheel drive vehicles and their drivers....For law-abiding off-roaders...every mudding incident potentially restricts innocent drivers. The Forest Service may be forced to close trails to let a meadow recover and that limits the off-roading community.'We're upset. We lose trails because somebody else does something stupid. This is common sense." -- Ron Dunn Jr., Off-Roader, "Dirty Mudders," The Daily Record (5/28/08)

"Over the past few years, use has increased virtually everywhere. One thing that happens when you have more use is you have more problems, just by virtue of the volume." -- Russ Ehnes of the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council, "Long Timelines, Enforcement Challenges Hinder OHV Regulation Efforts," New York Times (6/11/09)

"'No Motorized Vehicles Beyond This Point' means exactly that; either park it or go home. It only takes one lazy idiot to ruin it for everyone else." -- J. Theien, rider, "Speaking Up", Eastman's Hunting Journal (Feb.-Mar. '10)

"In the right circumstances, [impounding ORVs] would be something worth considering, from a township perspective, because illegal riding must stop," -- Don McClure, Pennsylvania Off Highway Vehicle Association, "Monroeville aims to rein in ATVs," Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (11/19/08)
 
"I have had fun riding four-wheelers, but I am also a hiker who enjoys the peace and quiet of the red-rock deserts of central and southern Utah. On any drive to Moab, it is easy to see where off-road vehicle users have run amok, indiscriminately tearing up the land...Opinions like mine are often dismissed. We are seen as trying to restrict the rights of ORV users, but we are really trying to preserve these treasures for all people. It is a relief to see Gov. Huntsman recognize the destruction and take steps to prevent it." -- Scott Bishop, The Salt Lake Tribune Letter to the Editor, "Thanks Guv," The Salt Lake Tribune (10/16/08)
 
“We support designated route systems…And frankly the OHV community is sick and tired of the black eye we get from those who think they can go wherever and whenever and however they darn well please.” Greg Mumm, Executive Director, Blue Ribbon Coalition, “Off-road rage’ climbs as trails get more crowded,” Washington Post (8/12/08)
 
“Unfortunately, while interest and participation in off-highway recreation has rapidly increased in recent years, the funding, management and recreation opportunities have just as rapidly decreased. This has led to more concentrated impacts on those areas where OHV recreation is still allowed, an increased burden on land management staff and has contributed to user conflicts.” Ed Moreland, VP Government Relations, Testimony before the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, American Motorcycle Association (6/5/08)

"On an annual basis hundreds of pounds of soil can erode away from less than 100 feet of vehicle tracks. The eroded soil nearly always ends up as sediments in streams or watersheds, which degrades water quality and can destroy both fish and wildlife habitat for decades." -- Allan Bacon, rider, "My Turn: Closing Upper Verde River Wildlife Area an opportunity for four-wheeling enthusiasts", Camp Verde Bugle (3/25/10)

 "Fine them big time and word will get around fast." -- ATV owner, proponent of higher fines for reckless riding, "ATV owners volunteer to police their own," Faribault County Register (8/11/08)
 
"We want our yahoos to have some common sense when it comes to use of our lands and law enforcement is the only way we're going to do it." -- Sandee McCullen, owns four-wheel drive autos, quads, and dirt bikes, "Off-roaders could be kicked off trust land," The Arizona Republic (6/30/08)
 
"All they need to do is make an example of a couple of people, with high fines, confiscating the vehicle, that kind of thing...Word will get out, and people will change." -- Mike Fissel, Jeep Expeditions, "Off-roaders could be kicked off trust land," The Arizona Republic (6/30/08)
 
"Urban populations are moving ever closer to the borders of public land. Between 1982 and 2002 almost 35 million acres of rural land were converted through development, reducing the space available for rural recreation. These increasing tensions have lead to numerous lawsuits on both sides of the issue. The media has chosen to focus on damage caused by renegade riders who have created their own trails. Satellite imagery has documented this process. These challenges represent opportunities and point to the need for greater collaboration between land managers, the OHV community and environmental groups." -- Ken Rosevear, Executive Director of Yuma County, Arizona Chamber of Commerce, and American Sand Association, United States House of Representatives Resources Committee Hearing (3/13/08)
 
"We think it’s (the law) great. A lot of people abuse the rules and (this is) one way of catching up with them...There’s no excuse for not knowing. It takes a little user responsibility." -- Steve Chapel, Western Slope ATV Association president, "Changes of off-road vehicle use take effect this year, before hunting season", Montrose Daily Press (8/12/08)
 
"In virtually every forest that has gone to designated trails from an open system there has been a reduction in miles (of trails). But it's not necessarily negative, if there is active management. You can have 800 miles of junk trail or 300 miles of great trail and people will enjoy the 300 miles of great trails." -- Tom Crimmins, consultant for the National Off Highway Vehicle Conservation Coalition (NOHVCC), "Workshop addresses off-highway vehicle issues," The Chadron Record (10/7/08)

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