Vance said he could not meet with
the mayor or tour election sites,
but said Johnson was welcome to
visit him in D.C.
Turning to the outdoors,
with summer at its peak, ATV
and side-by-side vehicles are
out in force across thousands of
miles of trails in Wisconsin, and
we have the most registered off-road
vehicles of any state at more
than half a million.
The explosion in riders comes with
a steady increase, though, in
fatality and injury accidents
involving the vehicles.
A new law went into effect in June
that requires seatbelt use,
part of work to enhance the safety
of ATVs and UTVs.
DNR Conservation Warden Jake
Holzclaw oversees the off-highway
vehicle program and joins us
now from Eau Claire.
And thanks very much for being here.
Absolutely. Look forward to it.
So how busy is it out
there on the ATV routes?
Yeah, great question.
It seems like it's getting busier
every day.
Wisconsin, like you said, we have
over half a million registered
machines. It's seems like that
number is going up every year.
And we have about
2,500 miles of off-road
trail routes.
And then we have over 65,000
miles of on-road
routes.
So basically
roadways, you know, roadway routes
shared with other motor vehicles.
So it really does keep us busy.
As we've said,
the uptick in the number of riders,
though, also results in
an increase in accidents
and injuries and even fatalities.
Yeah, unfortunately I think that
that's just a kind of a byproduct
of the increased numbers.
We really started to see an increase
around 2020, 2021.
I think people were just, with
everything else going on, they were
trying to get outdoors, find
something to do, and
it really has stayed
steadily increasing ever since then.
And when you have more people on the
landscape, I hope you have more
folks that potentially are.
You know, not being safe and
not following the rules.
And then we have seen an uptick in
crashes because of that.
So how and why do these crashes
mostly happen?
Well, it's any number of reasons.
A number of our crashes are
going to be alcohol or drug related.
The majority of them would be
alcohol related when
we're looking at some kind
of substance,
so to speak, that is causing folks
to crash.
And so I think folks need to
remember that just like
the motor vehicle world, you really
need to make a smart decision and
realize that even with these
recreational vehicles, like ATVs
and UTVs.
Maybe even more so they're a very
dynamic machine and folks have to be
uh you want to be on your best right
you want your mind to be working the
best you want, your body your
reaction time to be working the best
when you're out operating these.
One of the other things is that
people need to remember I think they
sometimes forget that these machines
handle differently on paved surfaces
and roadways.
The original design of these
machines. In fact, that's what the
man, you know, you'll see
manufacturer's recommendations is
that they're only operated off the
road. So I think folks need
to remember that the knobbier,
softer tires on a lot of these
machines, they tend to grip pavement
really well.
And if people drive
them like they would drive their car
going to work.
It can cause some problems.
They tend to tip easier if people
aren't slowing down into their
curves and really anticipating their
stops.
So a number of the crashes we're
seeing, a little over half, are
occurring on roadway routes.
So as to the operation
of these vehicles while
under the influence of whatever
it is, what
are the penalties for that?
I mean, you can write citations for
that, but what are penalties that
someone would face for that.
Yeah, ultimately it would
be a citation or a couple
citations.
Typically, you know, the citation is
issued for the operating while
intoxicated.
If they're operating over that
point zero eight level, they would
be issued an additional citation
for that.
And then sometimes they're issued
to other citations for other
violations that may have occurred
because they were intoxicated
and not not really thinking clearly
and violating some other
safety issues. So.
Yeah. So a number of citations can
be issued, but typically, you
know, most of what we're running
into is a first offense.
And in Wisconsin, like any ODI,
a first defense is just a civil
forfeiture.
It's really just a fine.
There's typically, typically
no jail time or extra
fines associated with that unless,
unless there is something more
major, like somebody dies in the
crash or something like that
happens.
And so people could be right
back out there on
those vehicles after that kind
of a citation.
Now, I took a look at your annual
report and it says that 95%
of fatal accidents are among
operators who have not taken a
safety course, but that
course is only required for people
born after 1988?
Why is that?
Yeah, you're spot on.
Um, well, uh, back when the
law was created, they, they decided
to, uh.
My understanding is that they
decided just set a date.
They had to set a timeframe where
they wanted everybody born on or
after that date to complete the
course. Like you said, it's one, one
of 88.
And so.
The idea behind that then was that
folks born before that are
essentially grandfathered in,
they're older age.
But what we are seeing, like you
said, 95% having completed a
safety course, but also the majority
of our crashes are happening with
folks that are
older and grandfathered.
So folks that were born before
that one one of 88 date.
And so I think it really points to
the fact that you're never really
too old to learn safety and
you're you're ever too old to know
the rules and regulations.
And we just want folks to remember
that the vast majority
of our regulations are there for
your safety and for you to
continue to enjoyment of that sport.
All right, well, we appreciate it.
Thanks very much for joining us from
Eau Claire, J.
Coles-Claude.
Thank you.
I didn't get in.
I wanted to ask you about helmet
use. Now those are not even
mandated, right?
Uh, the only time they're mandated,
um, would be for
people under 18.
So, and even then there
are some exemptions, but for
99% of the time,
folks that are under 18 are going to
have to wear a helmet when they're
on a public road or trail, um
or somebody else's private property.
Now, if they're like their own
immediate family's property or
they're actively engaged in hunting
or fishing, uh, then there's
an exemption for helmets.
But.
Again, the majority of crashes that
we're seeing here with adults, and
the majority of those adults are not
wearing helmets, whether it's on an
ATV or a UTV, and then in the case
of UTVs, they're not wearing seat
belts. So those are
additionally big reasons
why people are getting hurt and
killed.
Okay. Well, thank you.
It is fun, but it is also dangerous.
It is, it's fun,
but it's more fun when you do it
safely.
All right, thank you so much.
Have a good weekend.
Yep, you as well.
Thank you.