Two all-terrain vehicle accidents involving children in Manitoba have amplified demands for tougher ATV regulations in the province.
On Aug. 27, an 11-year-old boy died after an ATV flipped while he was driving at a farm near Portage la Prairie. The vehicle’s passenger, another 11-year-old boy, was not injured.
In April, a boy, 13, was operating an ATV on a gravel road near La Broquerie, Man., with three passengers on board from ages one to 10.
When the ATV crashed in a single vehicle accident, none of the children were wearing helmets. A two-year-old ended up in the intensive care unit at the Children’s Hospital in Winnipeg, while the others were less seriously injured.
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Steve Strang, mayor of the Rural Municipality of St. Clements, said the province can no longer ignore the matter of ATV safety.
“It’s to the point where the provincial government needs to step up and recognize that there is a true problem here,” he said. “The provincial government needs to make stronger laws on ATVs.”
Last year, Strang and other RM officials cracked down on ATV use in their municipality by passing a bylaw banning them from municipal roads and ditches.
“We felt we had to do something. We just couldn’t leave it status quo,” he said.
The bylaw and enforcement were needed because ATV riders, mostly young males, were endangering the lives of pedestrians and drivers in the municipality, Strang said.
“People walking, (ATVs are) going by them faster than the traffic goes by them. (Then) they blow the stop sign and they keep on going.”
Since the bylaw was introduced, the risky behaviour has lessened somewhat.
“My belief is that the municipalities have stepped up as much as they can step up,” said Strang.
Mike Waite, president of Safety Services Manitoba, said legislating safety is a necessary evil.
“Why does the government have to tell people not to smoke in cars with children and make it a law? Why do we have to tell people not to use their cell phones (while driving) and make it a law?
“Because unfortunately, the general population doesn’t get it…. They never think it will happen to them.”
In Manitoba, the Off Road Vehicles Act states that children under the age of 14 cannot operate an ATV unless they are supervised and within clear view of an adult.
Waite said having an adult present is meaningless if he doesn’t understand the risks associated with riding an ATV.
“You (should) understand the equipment, you’ve got safety equipment and you’ve checked the area to make sure that it is safe.”
John Spacek, assistant deputy minister of transportation with the Manitoba government, said his department is continually monitoring the effectiveness and relevance of the act.
“When it comes to this particular act, we have identified that there is a role for parents to play when youth (are riding),” he said.
“Parents have a responsibility, one, to approve that their children use these vehicles. And two, that they do so with oversight…. We have a fairly, I think, stringent regime for operating these things.”
Other jurisdictions, such as New Brunswick, require parents to take an ATV safety course before they are allowed to supervise their kids and other children who are riding the machines.
Spacek said the transportation department follows developments in other jurisdictions, but laws aren’t effective if they’re not enforceable.
“We don’t pass things (laws) and put obligations on the public that can’t be enforced,” he said.
