Murray Announces Passage of ATV Safety Bill

(BOSTON, MA) – Senate President Therese Murray (D-Plymouth) announced that on Thursday the Massachusetts Legislature, responding to alarming rates of injury and death, passed final legislation improving safety regulations for operators of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) in Massachusetts. The bill requires ATVs, off-road motorcycles and snowmobiles to be registered and all operators to wear helmets. It also establishes a minimum age of use for ATVs.

Since the tragic ATV-related death of their 8-year-old son Sean in 2006, Mark and Katie Kearney of Plymouth have advocated for increased ATV regulations and have worked tirelessly to get safety legislation passed.

“We have to consider the safety of people, especially children, who use these vehicles,” Murray said. “This bill will hold negligent users or owners accountable and help reduce the bad practices that harm individuals and children.”

According to the National Trauma Data Bank, more than 77 percent of ATV injuries and deaths involved children under the age of 14. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission found a 33 percent increase in all ATV-related injuries since 2001. In 2006 alone, at least 111 children under 16 were killed in ATV accidents.

The bill prohibits anyone under 14 from operating an ATV, unless it is for a sanctioned race supervised by adults over 18. It also establishes penalties and fines for reckless and negligent use, leaving the scene of an accident, and unauthorized use and false registration.

In order to cross a public way, public safety provisions in the bill require that crossings are marked and approved as part of an authorized recreation vehicle trail system. The bill also prohibits ATV use that does millions of dollars of damage every year to public and private property, wildlife and crops.

In 2007, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation created an Off-Highway Vehicle Working Group to identify strategies and solutions to address the growing concerns regarding the illegal and unsafe use of snowmobiles and recreation vehicles. Much of the bill, which also creates a new state off-highway vehicle advisory committee to address ongoing concerns, stems from that work.

Further provisions of the bill include:

• Prohibits possession of a loaded firearm, rifle or shotgun while riding on a recreation or snow vehicle;
• Requires that a person between 14 and 16 years of age may only operate an ATV with an engine capacity up to 90 cubic centimeters, and such use must be directly supervised by someone over 18;
• Provides that operators of recreation vehicles under the age of 18 must complete a vehicle safety and responsibility course;
• Mandates that recreation and snow vehicle owners who knowingly allow persons to use their vehicles are liable with the operator for any damage or injuries; and
• Establishes an Off-Highway Vehicle Program Fund that collects registration fees and revenues from fines and forfeitures to pay for law enforcement activities, land acquisition, trail maintenance and development, and the development of safety and training programs.

This bill now goes to the Governor for his signature.