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Vance said he could not meet with

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the mayor or tour election sites,

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but said Johnson was welcome to

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visit him in D.C.

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Turning to the outdoors,

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with summer at its peak, ATV

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and side-by-side vehicles are

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out in force across thousands of

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miles of trails in Wisconsin, and

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we have the most registered off-road

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vehicles of any state at more

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than half a million.

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The explosion in riders comes with

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a steady increase, though, in

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fatality and injury accidents

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involving the vehicles.

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A new law went into effect in June

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that requires seatbelt use,

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part of work to enhance the safety

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of ATVs and UTVs.

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DNR Conservation Warden Jake

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Holzclaw oversees the off-highway

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vehicle program and joins us

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now from Eau Claire.

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And thanks very much for being here.

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Absolutely. Look forward to it.

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So how busy is it out

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there on the ATV routes?

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Yeah, great question.

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It seems like it's getting busier

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every day.

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Wisconsin, like you said, we have

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over half a million registered

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machines. It's seems like that

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number is going up every year.

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And we have about

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2,500 miles of off-road

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trail routes.

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And then we have over 65,000

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miles of on-road

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routes.

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So basically

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roadways, you know, roadway routes

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shared with other motor vehicles.

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So it really does keep us busy.

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As we've said,

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the uptick in the number of riders,

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though, also results in

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an increase in accidents

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and injuries and even fatalities.

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Yeah, unfortunately I think that

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that's just a kind of a byproduct

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of the increased numbers.

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We really started to see an increase

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around 2020, 2021.

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I think people were just, with

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everything else going on, they were

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trying to get outdoors, find

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something to do, and

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it really has stayed

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steadily increasing ever since then.

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And when you have more people on the

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landscape, I hope you have more

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folks that potentially are.

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You know, not being safe and

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not following the rules.

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And then we have seen an uptick in

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crashes because of that.

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So how and why do these crashes

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mostly happen?

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Well, it's any number of reasons.

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A number of our crashes are

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going to be alcohol or drug related.

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The majority of them would be

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alcohol related when

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we're looking at some kind

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of substance,

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so to speak, that is causing folks

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to crash.

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And so I think folks need to

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remember that just like

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the motor vehicle world, you really

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need to make a smart decision and

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realize that even with these

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recreational vehicles, like ATVs

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and UTVs.

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Maybe even more so they're a very

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dynamic machine and folks have to be

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uh you want to be on your best right

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you want your mind to be working the

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best you want, your body your

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reaction time to be working the best

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when you're out operating these.

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One of the other things is that

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people need to remember I think they

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sometimes forget that these machines

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handle differently on paved surfaces

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and roadways.

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The original design of these

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machines. In fact, that's what the

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man, you know, you'll see

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manufacturer's recommendations is

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that they're only operated off the

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road. So I think folks need

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to remember that the knobbier,

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softer tires on a lot of these

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machines, they tend to grip pavement

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really well.

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And if people drive

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them like they would drive their car

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going to work.

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It can cause some problems.

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They tend to tip easier if people

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aren't slowing down into their

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curves and really anticipating their

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stops.

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So a number of the crashes we're

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seeing, a little over half, are

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occurring on roadway routes.

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So as to the operation

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of these vehicles while

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under the influence of whatever

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it is, what

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are the penalties for that?

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I mean, you can write citations for

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that, but what are penalties that

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someone would face for that.

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Yeah, ultimately it would

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be a citation or a couple

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citations.

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Typically, you know, the citation is

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issued for the operating while

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intoxicated.

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If they're operating over that

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point zero eight level, they would

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be issued an additional citation

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for that.

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And then sometimes they're issued

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to other citations for other

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violations that may have occurred

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because they were intoxicated

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and not not really thinking clearly

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and violating some other

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safety issues. So.

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Yeah. So a number of citations can

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be issued, but typically, you

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know, most of what we're running

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into is a first offense.

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And in Wisconsin, like any ODI,

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a first defense is just a civil

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forfeiture.

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It's really just a fine.

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There's typically, typically

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no jail time or extra

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fines associated with that unless,

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unless there is something more

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major, like somebody dies in the

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crash or something like that

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happens.

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And so people could be right

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back out there on

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those vehicles after that kind

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of a citation.

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Now, I took a look at your annual

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report and it says that 95%

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of fatal accidents are among

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operators who have not taken a

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safety course, but that

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course is only required for people

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born after 1988?

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Why is that?

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Yeah, you're spot on.

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Um, well, uh, back when the

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law was created, they, they decided

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to, uh.

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My understanding is that they

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decided just set a date.

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They had to set a timeframe where

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they wanted everybody born on or

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after that date to complete the

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course. Like you said, it's one, one

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of 88.

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And so.

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The idea behind that then was that

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folks born before that are

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essentially grandfathered in,

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they're older age.

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But what we are seeing, like you

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said, 95% having completed a

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safety course, but also the majority

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of our crashes are happening with

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folks that are

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older and grandfathered.

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So folks that were born before

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that one one of 88 date.

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And so I think it really points to

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the fact that you're never really

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too old to learn safety and

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you're you're ever too old to know

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the rules and regulations.

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And we just want folks to remember

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that the vast majority

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of our regulations are there for

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your safety and for you to

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continue to enjoyment of that sport.

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All right, well, we appreciate it.

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00:06:18,850 --> 00:06:20,769
Thanks very much for joining us from

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Eau Claire, J.

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Coles-Claude.

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Thank you.

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00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:29,579
I didn't get in.

212
00:06:29,580 --> 00:06:31,719
I wanted to ask you about helmet

213
00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:33,099
use. Now those are not even

214
00:06:33,100 --> 00:06:34,100
mandated, right?

215
00:06:35,700 --> 00:06:37,319
Uh, the only time they're mandated,

216
00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:39,639
um, would be for

217
00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:41,120
people under 18.

218
00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:44,299
So, and even then there

219
00:06:44,300 --> 00:06:46,539
are some exemptions, but for

220
00:06:46,540 --> 00:06:48,459
99% of the time,

221
00:06:48,460 --> 00:06:49,759
folks that are under 18 are going to

222
00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:51,099
have to wear a helmet when they're

223
00:06:51,100 --> 00:06:53,659
on a public road or trail, um

224
00:06:53,660 --> 00:06:55,359
or somebody else's private property.

225
00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:56,499
Now, if they're like their own

226
00:06:56,500 --> 00:06:58,359
immediate family's property or

227
00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:00,099
they're actively engaged in hunting

228
00:07:00,100 --> 00:07:01,979
or fishing, uh, then there's

229
00:07:01,980 --> 00:07:02,979
an exemption for helmets.

230
00:07:02,980 --> 00:07:03,980
But.

231
00:07:04,690 --> 00:07:06,509
Again, the majority of crashes that

232
00:07:06,510 --> 00:07:08,049
we're seeing here with adults, and

233
00:07:08,050 --> 00:07:09,889
the majority of those adults are not

234
00:07:09,890 --> 00:07:11,869
wearing helmets, whether it's on an

235
00:07:11,870 --> 00:07:13,449
ATV or a UTV, and then in the case

236
00:07:13,450 --> 00:07:14,849
of UTVs, they're not wearing seat

237
00:07:14,850 --> 00:07:17,169
belts. So those are

238
00:07:17,170 --> 00:07:19,169
additionally big reasons

239
00:07:19,170 --> 00:07:20,289
why people are getting hurt and

240
00:07:20,290 --> 00:07:21,249
killed.

241
00:07:21,250 --> 00:07:22,629
Okay. Well, thank you.

242
00:07:22,630 --> 00:07:25,729
It is fun, but it is also dangerous.

243
00:07:25,730 --> 00:07:27,629
It is, it's fun,

244
00:07:27,630 --> 00:07:29,009
but it's more fun when you do it

245
00:07:29,010 --> 00:07:30,010
safely.

246
00:07:30,260 --> 00:07:32,119
All right, thank you so much.

247
00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:33,120
Have a good weekend.

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00:07:33,940 --> 00:07:35,179
Yep, you as well.

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00:07:35,180 --> 00:07:36,180
Thank you.