By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Should there be lots of streets designated as ATV
streets, should there be a few, or should there be
none?
Those were the questions Mona Town Council members had
been mulling over when they invited a deputy from the
Juab County Sheriff's Office to come and give them some
advice and some insight.
Sheriff David Carter came instead of a deputy and he
advised council members that any street they designated
as a ATV road would need to be signed as such.
"The problem is, that if you don't designate some
streets as ATV roads, it is illegal to ride an ATV on any
street," said Carter. "That means it is just as illegal
for an adult to drive and ATV along a city street as it
is for a kid."
The speed limit for those riding an ATV along a street
is 15 mph. Anyone going over that speed can be ticketed.
And right now, every person who rides an ATV in town
could be cited.
Often the tickets come because of citizen complaints
about the rate of speed of some drivers or the dust
created or the noise level. In fact, what usually happens
in a community is that one or two residents drive too
fast and need to be ticketed. Usually a ticket puts an
end to the fast driving but not always.
Such was the case, said Darlene Fowkes, council
member, with a couple of young people who were causing
problems and who were then ticketed.
One of the things Nephi designated in their ordinance,
said Carter, was that riders must keep to the edge of the
existing asphalt roadway, for safety's sake.
"The driver must keep the vehicle to the right on the
roadway," said Carter.
There is a one-time permit which can be obtained to
allow an ATV to be used as a farm vehicle and be driven
to and from the farm. It is only $5 to obtain such a
permit and that would make it legal to drive on a city
street to the farm.
"We need to look at a map of the city and determine
which would be the best streets to designate as ATV
routes," said Rick Schnurr, council member.
As of May 1, 2002, there is a new law that those
riding ATV's must be wearing a safety helmet. It is legal
for those between ages 8 and 25 to drive an ATV if they
have taken a safety course.
Carter brought a copy of the ordinance Nephi City has
in place which deals with ATV use inside the city.
Certain streets are designated as roads out-of-town.
Those collector roads are marked with a small ATV route
sign.
The person driving the ATV must use the quickest route
from their home to the ATV roadway out of the community.
This does not include a trip past the grocery store.
Harry Newell, council member, said he thought the
store in Mona should be on the route.
Newell and Schnurr were assigned by Bryce Lynn, mayor,
to look at a map of the city and consider which streets
would be best designated as ATV streets and then return
to the council with a recommendation.
