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.
So how and why do
these crashes mostly happen?
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.
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.
Folks have to be
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 the
you'll see
manufacturers' 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.
If people drive them
like they would drive
their car going to work
it can cause some problems.