Increase ATVs use challenge

[Lee Borgersen]

   COs face challenge from increased use of ATVs

  The machines are more popular than ever in the region.

 ........
REGIONAL—As ATV use is increasing, it’s keeping area conservation officers busier than ever. And that’s never been more true than this spring, according to Anthony Bermel, DNR conservation officer based in Babbitt.
 
“There has absolutely been an increase in traffic this year,” said Bermel, who attributes much of what he and other COs are seeing in the woods right now to the restrictions put in place on so many other activities as part of the effort to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
“It seems people are looking for any excuse to be outdoors,” he said. “Beaver trapping is up. Turkey hunting is up.” And fishing license sales were up 48 percent over last year just ahead of this year’s opener.
 
Yet it’s more than just the unusual circumstances of the current pandemic, notes Bermel, who has been focused on ATV enforcement work for much of the spring. He’s not alone. The DNR’s weekly report from COs across the state is full of evidence of the growing enforcement challenge that ATVs are posing. For the most part, it’s a numbers game. Fifteen years ago, there were more registered snowmobiles in Minnesota than ATVs.

 Today, while the number of registered snowmobiles has dropped to below 200,000, the number of registered ATVs reached nearly 310,000 as of 2019.
“ATVs are getting more popular in general here,” notes Bermel, who said he expects that trend to continue as area groups add more miles of ATV trail in the region. On a recent weekend, Bermel said he talked to three or four people out in the woods who had just purchased ATVs for the first time.
As with many inexperienced riders, there’s a learning curve when it comes to safety as well as the rules of the road. And that’s where COs are running into problems and issuing plenty of citations. Outdated registration is always a common issue, said Bermel, and it’s one on which he’s been providing a little more understanding than usual given the difficulty that some may be having completing registrations with most license bureaus closed for now.

Other frequent violations, however, are of greater concern to public safety and protection of resources. “I can tell you from what I and other officers deal with, youth helmet violations are a real concern.” Under state law, anyone on an ATV under age 18 is required to wear a helmet, notes Bermel, and violations of that law are all too common. While many riders recognize the hazards inherent in a traditional ATV, Bermel said it seems many riders feel safer in the increasingly popular side-by-sides, where kids are frequent riders, too often without helmets.
 
Bermel says the side-by-sides are just as dangerous as traditional ATVs because they typically don’t have seatbelts. That means riders can easily be thrown or crushed if a vehicles tips or rolls. “If they overturn, they don’t have the protection,” said Bermel. “The ATV fatality outside of Cook recently was an example. It seems it always these machines rolling over, causing head injuries.”
Kids aren’t only at risk as riders. Bermel notes that they are often the operators of ATVs, and may not recognize some of the risks involved. That’s one reason why the state requires that all recreational operators complete a safety course before getting on an ATV. State law also requires that youth under age 15 be accompanied by an adult with a valid driver’s license, but that’s another rule that’s often flouted, notes Bermel.
At the same time, Bermel said he’s seeing too many ATV riders operating in areas that aren’t open to off-road use. While conditions have dried considerably across much of the area as the snow has melted, Bermel said some forest roads or trails remain closed for now to prevent rutting. “Those closures are put in place for the protection of the trails,” he added. He also noted that he sees frequent violations along the paved portion of the Mesabi Trail in Tower, which many people continue to use as an ATV trail despite the fact that it’s closed to such use.
And, perhaps not surprisingly, driving under the influence continues to be an enforcement issue. On a recent Saturday night, Bermel said he arrested an ATV driver who blew a .177 on a field alcohol test. And the driver was operating on a closed trail at the same time.
“ATVs are really similar to snowmobiles in that they really don’t mix well with alcohol,” said Bermel.

While those who drink and operate an ATV can expect little sympathy from a CO, in most cases, enforcement is a way to help the public better understand what’s expected. While COs will often use warning tickets as an educational tool, Bermel said that becomes difficult to justify when they see multiple violations with a single operator.
On a recent weekend, Bermel estimates he made contact with 40-50 ATV operators. “I wrote about ten warnings and six citations. That’s a pretty high violation rate, but it was kind of par for the course for those types of contacts.”
Once word gets out about enforcement, Bermel said COs will often see behavior begin to change. “People do come around with enforcement,” he said. “It’s a learning curve, but can be greatly shortened if people learn what they’re supposed to do.”