Cramahe resident against ATVs on roads

On April 21 Cramahe Council is considering whether to extend its bylaw which allowed ATVs on township roads north of 401 in 2008.

Pat Calder is arguing that council should wait until it has more information until it makes a decision. Her presentation to Council is below:

To Members of Cramahe Township Council:

I was astounded, to say the least, when council passed the by-law permitting use of ATVs on the roads north of 401 in Cramahe township last May 8.

Nevertheless, here I am again to plead for common sense this time around.

There is every reason why council should not pass this by-law again, and if it does, to make it temporary for yet another year, waiting for certain facts and actions to become known.

Statistics on accidents/injuries in Canada and N. America in 2008 have not yet been collated.

2. Today the Edmonton Sun newspaper reported the death of a 10 yr. old boy who was riding an ATV unsupervised when it rolled over on him. As long as by-laws like ours are in place the impression given to parents is that these vehicles are safe when even the manufacturers won’t recommend their use on roads or by children under 16.

3. The provincial committee discussing the age limit for ATV use is still meeting and has not reached a conclusion.

4. The provincial law in the making to harmonize snowmobile and ATV use is still under study in committee.

5. If the Ontario government has not yet seen fit to pass a law allowing ATVs on roads, why has council?

6. The Northumberland ATV Riders’ Club last year promised this council to be active in local schools promoting safe riding, and while they have posted a picture of 12 of their members having taken a Youth Rider ATV Safety Instructor Training Programme in March, they have yet to get their youth education goals up and running. I for one suspect that they are mainly interested in increasing ridership and membership fees for their organization. That may be a cynical presumption on my part, but I think nothing will be lost by a wait-and-see approach by council.

7. In spite of the by-law I know of no signs in Cramahe township on the shoulders of the roads reminding ATV riders that the speed limit for them is Not the same as for road-worthy vehicles. How does this lack of signage affect our liability? One lawsuit could bankrupt this township.

8. Last year I asked council to find out what out-of-court cash settlements were reached by our neighbours, Alnwick-Haldiman and Prince Edward County, who were both being sued in ATV accident cases at the time. Has this information come forward and may the public know what those costs to taxpayers were?

9. The difficulty of enforcement remains. The by-law officer can’t enforce the by-law. The MTO regulations cannot be enforced by the OPP because they are too few in number. The public can’t report which ATV they saw breaking the law because the licence numbers are too small to read from any distance. The riders themselves are confused as to which roads are county, which they cannot ride on, and which are township north of 401, which they can.

10. After testing on all types of terrain, the OPP recommends a speed limit of 40 k/p/hr for ATVs. When will this become law?

11. The accident/fatality statistics bear repeating tonight. In accidents between cars and ATVs, the ATV riders were killed twice as often as the car drivers in NB and QC. Dr. John Colby, a trauma team leader at Kingston General Hospital, reported that 41% of the deaths involving ATVs happened on the roads, and 1/3 of the deaths were children. Traumas from ATV accidents tripled in 10 years at KGH, and there was a high rate of head injuries.

12. The Canadian Safety Council recommends ATVs not be used on roads or in ditches. They do supply voluntary safety courses for ATVers, but when will these become manditory for all operators?

13. We need to wait for regular safety inspections on ATVs to become law, just as they are for road-worthy vehicles. Tires, brakes, and emissions should be examined by qualified personnel at least bi-annually.

There is strong anti-ATV feeling amongst many taxpayers in Cramahe, so why aren’t they here to voice their opinion? I’ll tell you why.

Many people have experienced the intimidating tactics of some ATV riders. The machines themselves are large and intimidating to a person walking, riding a horse, or cross-country skiing. The manners of some riders could use a bit of polish.

At the four hearings I attended last spring, an ATV rider was photographing any person who spoke against the passing of a by-law. Such intimidation tactics were not stopped by any of the councillors at any of the meetings. We did not feel safe expressing our opinion. The implication of those photos was: we know who you are and we’ll find out where you live.

On Mike Ainsworthy’s website, NATV Riders’ Club, there is a respectful statement of code of conduct recommended, and yet on this same website there are pictures posted of women and children riding double, which is against the law, and ATVs riding up stream, which flies in the face of their supposed respect for nature.

Why is Cramahe council in such a rush? Before renewing this by-law, I urge council to reconsider when there are still so many unknowns. Well over half of the townships in Ontario have Not passed such a by-law. Only three in Northumberland County passed a by-law allowing ATVs on the sides of the roads.

Certainly, until the province comes down with the decisions it is still deliberating in committee, it would be premature to make the by-law permanent.

I hope council will make the right decision. Thank you for your time.

Respectfully submitted,

Patricia Calder, Taxpayer