SENATE BILL 101

[Dune Dude]

Ok class, it time to Rant!!,

 

I’m getting really tired of proposals, restrictions, regulations and legislation or any other tions that I want to scream.  I remember last year when I pulled out into the sand, unloaded the quads, set up the RV and enjoyed the long weekend with the family, riding and playing together, blissfully unaware of Big Brother.  Now it is getting into riding season and I am worried about not being able to relive those fun filled days.  Make no mistake about it; things are never going to be the same.  Big Brother wants to tell us how to live and he is more than eager to listen to “outside” groups that want to end our fun.  Or substitute for fun (blind stupidity of slack jawed yokels with no sense, which are like a herd of cattle headed to slaughter).  Man I liked it when I was stupid.  No worries, just fun. 

But, this new legislative session has forced me to get my thinking part of my noggin working again.  Fortunately, this stuff is not rocket science, even though the “outside” groups try to portray it that way.  They think they can talk over our heads with big people language and use words with more than two syllables.  Sorry, ATV’ers are much smarter than that.  We have worked hard as a group to try and defeat Senate Bill 49 and expose all of its inherent flaws.  Now we have a new challenge in Senate Bill 101.

 

The good thing about this Bill is that there was an attempt to include the riding community’s input into the draft.  The Oregon Parks Department saw some holes in there current rules and are trying to make some changes to get some consistency between class I and III vehicles and reduce accidents on lands open to the public.

In summary the Bill says:

 

To legally operate a Class I (ATV) vehicle on premises open to the public -

- People over the age of 16 must posses a Class I all-terrain vehicle operator permit.

- Ages 7-15 must posses a Class I all-terrain vehicle operator permit and be accompanied by an 18 year old or older that has the Class I operator permit and is on the                 same ATV (passenger) if the ATV is designed for it or on another ATV.

No one under 7 may operate an ATV on public land.

 

To legally operate a Class III (Off-road motorcycle) vehicle on premises open to the public –

-People over the age of 16 must posses a Class III all-terrain vehicle operator permit.

-Ages 7-11 must posses a Class III all-terrain permit and be accompanied by an 18 year old or older that has the Class III permit and is on the same bike (passenger) if the bike is designed for it or on another bike.

No one under 7 may operate a Off-road motorcycle on public land.

 

Provisions are in the Statute to hold parents or legal guardians responsible if they let their child ride on public lands without an operator permit or no supervision of an adult with an operator permit and allowing a child under 7 to operate a Class I or III vehicle on public lands.

 

This proposal is leaps and bounds ahead of Senate Bill 49.  It requires safety training and the biggest one of all, ADULT SUPERVISION!  Plus, it makes Class I and III regulations consistent with each other.  However, all is not well with this Bill.

 

The first obvious question is why are Class I and III separated under the supervision requirement?  If my son is on an ATV and has his permit then I (or other supervising adult) have to be on an ATV (with my permit of course).  Or is he is on a Class III then I have to be also. 

Why are there two separate training permits?  Class I or Class III.

So if we have both types of vehicles we have to take two classes and get two permits?

All-terrain training should be under one class and one permit.

 

How is training handled?  Is it based on the CPSC’s old age to cc requirements?  This is unacceptable.  We are working toward rider fit, not one size fits all nonsense.

How are out of State riders handled? 

Does 2009 give everyone enough time to get through training?  What will be the price of training?

 

The biggest problem is the minimum age standard.  Why 7?  Is this just a lucky number?  Because it has been 7 on Class III vehicles for who knows how long?  It makes someone feel all warm and fuzzy?  The old CPSC recommendations is 6 and up.  Were 6 and younger riders suffering large numbers of accidents?  If so show me the numbers.  Parks wants to eliminate 2-up riding.  Then they want to keep younger kids from riding by themselves.  This seems to be a conflict between the two regulations.  If a child under 7 can fit on an ATV or motorcycle, can pass the skills test and will always have adult supervision, then why can’t they ride?  This minimum age needs to go.  Let the parent make the decision if their 6 or 5 or younger can ride.  Then let them prove it during safety training.  This is the common sense thing to do.

 

Parks has done a much better job of drafting legislation that keeps the family riding together.  It just needs to have some work to make it right for all.

I applaud the training aspects of the Bill and requiring the parents to constantly supervise children under 16 while they ride.  We as a group, which have ridden with our children for years without incident, already know these simple common sense practices. 

 

Get geared up again Off-Road Riders.  There is another battle to be fought and for our voice to be heard.  Stand up and make your opinion known.  Because now is the time to make a difference and help shape the rules that we will have to live by while riding with our families.

 

[Sandflicker]

I'm confused,
Are we suppose to contact the Senators Or the Dept. of Park and Rec.

I used to have a brain before this whole SB 49 thing.  Now where did I put that thing???

[Dune Dude]

You can do both.  James Myron is the main guy behind the Parks initiative.  His e-mail is  james.myron@state.or.us 

The Senators to contact about this Bill are:
 
Senator Rick Metsger
Party: D District:26
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1726
Interim Phone: 503-668-4378
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-307, Salem, Or. 97301
Email: sen.rickmetsger@state.or.us

Senator Bruce Starr
Party R District: 15
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1715
Interim Phone: 503-649-4391
Email: sen.brucestarr@state.or.us

Senator Ryan Deckert
Party: D District:14
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1714
Interim Phone: 503-986-1714
Email: sen.ryandeckert@state.or.uc

Senator Larry George
Party: R District: 13
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1713
Email: sen.larrygeorge@state.or.us

Senator Laurie Monnes Anderson
Party: D District: 25
Capitol Phone 503-986-1725
Interim Phone: 503-618-3071
Email: sen.lauriemonnesanderson@state.or.us


Remember, for the most part this Bill is very family friendly.  It just needs a few changes to make it better.

And a second thought...
What about side-by-sides?  Currently, they are considered Class II.  That means you could not be in one and supervising your kids on an ATV or ORMC.  This issue needs to be addressed as these vehicles gain in popularity.

[Quad daddy]

atv.info@state.or.us  You can reach state parks here. I was in a meeting with them 2 weeks ago and they do read all E mails sent to them.
You the parent do not have to be on a quad to supervise your kids. But in order to supervise you will have to be trained for what you are supervising. In other words the baseball coach can't coach the football team.
I'll have more info after the meeting Monday, as I will be there.

[Towman 1]

Well I can see what they are trying to do. If the adult has to have a class 1 permit, and then have a class 111 permit also, that makes for double the funds to them. So if it is like $20.00 for the class 1 permit and then $20.00 for the class 111 permit, that is $40.00 to them. Its just another way to screw us legally.

[bumblebee]

Dunedude and all:   Well stated and I can't agree more with you.  We have won the first step, but not the war yet.
We need to ask the Parks if they have figures on how many tourist come to the state to ride our riding areas.  I know they have some sort of figures.  The last figures that I saw on the Oregon dunes was that' more than 2 million visitors come here every summer"  to see and play on the dunes.   Does ANYONE  out there think they might spend more than a dollar a day per person??  hahaha you get my point.  We need to address this as well as the other concerns.  What do we do about out of state riders?  Do we need a loading and unloading clause?  Still alot of questions to be answered for sure.
Thanks for letting me spew off a little.
 

[Sandflicker]

I read someplace their is a plan for out of State riders.

Oregon will accept their home states rider safety card (if their State has one) or they can purchase a day - week-end - or week pass.  Money - money-money-Money,

[Towman 1]

I talked to a friend of mine the other day about what the ATV permit money does around Oregon. I could not believe just what we ATVers has paid for with our permit money. About half the money from licensing our ATV's has went to help build trails, parks, and a lot of other stuff that most of the ATVers don't use. It kinda makes a person mad to hear what some of the money has went for.

[Dune Dude]

Towman 1,

You'll be even more disappointed to here that a portion of the sale of every gallon of gas you pump in Oregon goes into an account that is just sitting there.  The funds are dedicated to be used for establishing new riding areas and helping to fix up established ones.  It's a shame some is not used to have more enforcement officers riding around the dune areas.  This would help reduce the stupid behavior..