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Van said he could not meet with the mayor or tour election sites, but said Johnson was

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welcome to visit him in D.C.

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Turning to the outdoors with summer at its peak, ATV and side-by-side vehicles are out

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in force across thousands of miles of trails in Wisconsin, and we have the most registered

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off-road vehicles of any state at more than half a million.

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The explosion in riders comes with a steady increase, though, in fatality and injury accidents

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involving the vehicles.

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A new law went into effect in June that requires seatbelt use, part of work to enhance the safety

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of ATVs and UTVs.

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The DNR Conservation Warden, Jake Holzclaw, oversees the off-highway vehicle program and

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joins us now from Eau Claire, 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 there on the ATV routes?

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Yeah, great question.

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It seems like it's getting busier every day, but Wisconsin, like you said, we have over

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half a million registered machines, it seems like that number is going up every year, and

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we have about 2,500 miles of off-road trail routes, and then we have over 65,000 miles

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of on-road routes.

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So basically, roadways, you know, roadway routes shared with other motor vehicles, so

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it really does keep us busy.

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As we've said, the uptick in the number of riders, though, also results in an increase

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in accidents and injuries and even fatalities.

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Yeah, unfortunately, I think that that's just kind of a byproduct of the increased numbers.

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We really started to see an increase around 2020, 2021.

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I think people were just with everything else going on.

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They were trying to get outdoors, find something to do, and it really has stayed steadily increasing

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ever since then.

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And when you have more people on the landscape, you have more folks that potentially are,

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you know, not being safe and not following the rules, and then we have seen an uptick

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in crashes because of that.

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So how and why do these crashes mostly happen?

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Well, it's any number of reasons.

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A number of our crashes are going to be alcohol or drug related.

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The majority of them would be alcohol related when we're looking at, you know, some kind

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of substance, so to speak, that's causing folks to crash.

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And so I think folks need to remember that, you know, just like the motor vehicle world,

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you really need to make a smart decision and realize that even with these recreational

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vehicles like ATVs and UTVs, maybe even more so, they're a very dynamic machine and folks

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have to be, you want to be on your best, right?

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You want your mind to be working the best.

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You want your body, your reaction time to be working the best when you're out operating

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these.

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One of the other things is that people need to remember.

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I think they sometimes forget that these machines handle differently unpaved surfaces

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and roadways.

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The original design of these machines, in fact, that's what the man, you know, you'll

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see manufacturers' recommendations is that they are only operated off the road.

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So I think folks need to remember that the Navier, softer tires on a lot of these machines,

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they tend to grip pavement really well.

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And if people drive them like they would drive their car going to work, it can cause

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some problems.

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And to tip easier, if people aren't slowing down into their curves and really anticipating

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their stops.

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So a number of the crashes we're seeing a little over half are occurring on roadway

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routes.

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So as to the operation of these vehicles, while under the influence of whatever it is,

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what are the penalties for that?

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I mean, you can write citations for that, but what are the penalties that someone would

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face for that?

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Yeah.

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Ultimately, it would be a citation or a couple citations.

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Typically, you know, a citation is issued for the operating while intoxicated.

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If they're operating over that .08 level, they would be issued an additional citation

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for that.

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And then sometimes they're issued to other citations for other violations that may have

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occurred because they were intoxicated and not really thinking clearly and violating

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some other safety issues.

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So yeah, so a number of citations can be issued, but typically, you know, most of what

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we're running into is a first offense.

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And in Wisconsin, like any OWI, a first offense is just a civil forfeiture.

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It's really just a fine.

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There's typically no jail time or extra fines associated with that unless there is something

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more major, like somebody dies in the crash or something like that happens.

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And so people could be right back out there on those vehicles after that kind of a citation.

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Now, I took a look at your annual report, and it says that 95% of fatal accidents are

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among operators who have not taken a safety course.

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But those are that course is only required for people born after 1988.

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Why is that?

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Yeah, you're spot on.

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Well, back when the law was created, they decided to, my understanding is that they

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decided to set a date.

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They had to set a timeframe where they wanted everybody born on or after that date to complete

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the course.

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Like you said, it's one, one of 88.

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And so the idea behind that then was that folks born before that are essentially grandfathered

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in their older age.

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But what we are seeing, like you said, 95% having completed a safety course, but also

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the majority of our crashes are happening with folks that are older and grandfathered in.

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So folks that were born before that one one of 88 date.

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And so I think it really points to the fact that you're never really too old to learn

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safety and you're never too old to know the rules and regulations.

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And we just want folks to remember that the majority, the vast majority of our regulations

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are there for your safety and for you to continue to enjoyment of that sport.

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All right.

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Well, we appreciate it.

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Thanks very much for joining us from Eau Claire J. Coleskaw.

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Thank you.

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I didn't, I didn't get in, I wanted to ask you about helmet use.

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Now those are not even mandated, right?

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The only time they're mandated would be for people under 18.

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So, and even then there are some exemptions, but for 99% of the time, folks that are under

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18 are going to have to wear a helmet when they're on a public or over trail or somebody

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else's private property.

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Now, if they're on like their own immediate family's property or they're actively engaged

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in hunting or fishing, then there's an exemption for helmets.

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But again, the majority of crashes that we're seeing are with adults and the majority of

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those adults are not wearing helmets, whether it's on an eight year UTV.

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And then in the case of UTVs, they're not wearing seatbelts.

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So those are additionally big reasons why people are getting hurt and killed.

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Yeah.

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Okay.

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Well, thank you.

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It is also dangerous.

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Yeah.

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It is.

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You got it.

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It's fun, but it's more fun when you do it safely.

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Indeed.

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All right.

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Thank you so much.

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Have a good weekend.

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Yep.

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You as well.

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Thank you.