The town of East Carbon has been working hard to make sure its citizens are safe from ATV accidents within city limits, but it doesn’t seem to be having the desired effect.
The subject has been the main topic at city council meetings for almost a month now. There have been many residents involved in the process of making sure laws are abided by and new measures have been taken; such as placing new speed limit signs all throughout the town to keep drivers of recreational vehicles aware of the speed limit.
The biggest issue the town is still facing is that there are still underage driver’s speeding through town with no helmets. In order to operate a recreational vehicle, a person must have their driver’s license or an ATV permit. Anyone riding under 18 years of age must wear a helmet. These laws, and other guidelines are simply not being followed.
As a solution,Mayor LaFontaine suggested police no longer issue warnings; when someone is pulled over for breaking a law on an ATV, they are to be cited immediately.
“There was no problem with people taking their ATV’s from their home to the trails, but that has been completely taken out of context,” said council member, Dave Maggio. “The law was originally passed because when people would go out to an ATV trail, they would have to walk their four wheeler to it, which could cause accidents of people running themselves over and was just inconvenient.”
Although the law was simply to allow people to get from their homes to a trail, it has been used to allow drivers to get from place to place throughout the town. This wouldn’t be an issue if it weren’t for certain citizens speeding through neighborhoods and disturbing residents who live within.
“This is a privilege and if it continues to be abused, it will be lost for everyone” said council member Barbra Robinette.