Isn’t it illegal to operate a side by side,or any ATV on the road?

It is, but when did that ever stop anyone?

I had written about seeing an ATV/quad followed by a UTV (side by side) riding on the paved shoulder, going against the traffic on HWY97 just south of Quesnel. The paved should was not swept of dust. They were going fast enough to raise a cloud of dust behind them.

Someone has to clamp down on these things on rural roads. With the tires and low tire pressure they have they are very hard to maneuver in emergency situations and get worse as they speed up.

I live in this area and some of us are getting a little tired of these things running free on the roads and this was 3 in the morning, I don`t feel bad for them, good jod on the pittman move.

The problem is that people need to report ATV, UTV,DIRT BIKES and SNOWMOBILES they are all illegal to operate on road ways yet few people do report them for varying reasons and on the police side they do their best but have to work within resources that they have and manage it as best as they can.

Want to do something about it report it if you sit there and bitch about them roaring down the road your just as guilty as they are

I have reported them to the city on two occasions. The bylaws people do not even know their own bylaws about operating snowmobiles and ATV’s in the City. They referred me to the RCMP

In one case the RCMP did come out and did nothing about it. The vehicle crossed the road in front of me coming from a park, and then went down the residential street at high speed to get away from me and came back through the park. I had a couple of pictures. Also, there were marks on the road from the vehicle.

All that evidence, and nothing!

So, reporting does no good is my experience.

This is PG, Hicksville. Just another indicator in my eyes.

Oh, we have to make sure everyone has their dog licenses paid up! Bylaws knows its priorities. Make money, no loose money by spending time writing event reports and taking them to court.

We do report and by the cops show up they are 30 min gone so don’t give me don’t sit and bitch about it

The RCMP spoke to the individual involved in one case. They did nothing since he had a drivers license. Not sure what that had to do with it. Then I had to call them back a few days later to see whether they wrote up report and needed a statement from me …. nope …. I gave up.

A second time, with a kid, I went to the house where the machine came from. Parents did not give a hoot.

The city employs 5 full time bylaw enforcement and they patrol the downtown core rarely do they go elsewhere in the city. The city also employs 2 people for canine enforcement but that is seasonal and they are mostly concerned with licensing.

So in essence the city of Prince George has literally thousands of bylaws and subsections to them but nobody to enforce them and before I forget bylaw enforcement only happens during city hours no weekend, holiday or evening coverage just 8am to 5pm monday to Friday

Once upon a time I phoned the cops to complain about trail bikes and such going up and down the street I live on. When I talked to the “lady” on the phone at the cop shop, she wanted to know more about me than that the noisy, bratty lawbreaker. Name, address date of birth etc. When I explained I wasn’t breaking the law, she hung up on me. So I don’t phone cops anymore. I patiently wait until they (the noisy kids) wind up in a wheelchair or grow up and move away. Works for me.

“Want to do something about it report it if you sit there and bitch about them roaring down the road your just as guilty as they are”

Whoa, gear down there, Big Rig! Many folks who write in to these threads are more than a little disillusioned with the authorities and don’t call, no matter what the difficulty is. Second, claiming that anyone who doesn’t play the role of hall monitor is just as guilty as the scofflaws who break these infraction is just plain stupid.
Yes, it’s helpful if we report unsafe behavior, but to say that the lack of reporting is as dangerous as the initial behavior makes no sense.

I hope they get charged for no insurance and for any damage done to the cruiser! Was alcohol involve? 3am I bet someone had a few drinks or a puff! Throw the book at them!

Probably can’t as they were most likely minors.

Sigh!

gus: “In one case the RCMP did come out and did nothing about it. The vehicle crossed the road in front of me coming from a park, and then went down the residential street at high speed to get away from me and came back through the park. I had a couple of pictures. Also, there were marks on the road from the vehicle.

All that evidence, and nothing!”

I think you’ve been watching too much CSI. Unless you have names and addresses or they are caught in the act, you are pretty much out of luck.

Most of the people who ride ATV’s, UTV’s, snowmobiles within City limits and on roadways are aware of the bylaws. They just don’t care and they know there’s very little chance they’ll be held to account.

Same thing with people who leave their dogs outside to bark all day and night… another pet peeve of mine.

JB …. in another post following I wrote:

“The RCMP spoke to the individual involved in one case. They did nothing since he had a drivers license. Not sure what that had to do with it. Then I had to call them back a few days later to see whether they wrote up report and needed a statement from me …. nope …. I gave up.”

Then you wrote: “Unless you have names and addresses or they are caught in the act, you are pretty much out of luck.”

They had the address!! The vehicle had been put on a trailer by the time they arrived. The RCMP went to the house and talked with the rider/owner. Afterwards, the RCMP came back to my house and told me they had a driver’s license and the vehicle was insured. They never asked me to verify a report as the complainant.

Basically it was the end of the story.

With my couple of recent experiences, which includes video I took of the young ATV rider which I could post on here, including full front face as well as street address I have taken the attitude of Harbinger. The City and RCMP do not give a chit … well, in that case, neither do I. Why get all upset over something I have totally no control over?

I have been told that Bylaw Services operates a complaint driven service.

Well, no complaints, no service required. Lay the whole bunch of them off!

Watched a few of them (Quads and dirt bikes) going down Blackburn Road last night during the power outage. No lights on any of them.

I thought the police had a thing whereby they impound any ATV’s etc. driving on the road. Pointless calling the cops out for that around here, by the time they get here the ATV’s would be long gone, and with no licence plates on them, there’s no way to identify them.

Saw a few Quads going down North Nechako Road today, near the store, no helmets,
whatta ya goin to do about it!!

The reality is that it is the few that give the rest a bad name. I live in a rural area & the are there are quads & UTV’s away going back & forth. Most are respectful to speed & noise, some aren’t. The bigger problem out here is the mudder trucks with the glass pack exhaust. I’ve lost track of how many times myself & my infant son have been woken up at 3 or 4 in the morning to truck repeatedly ripping up the hill in front of my house, shaking the windows in some cases.

Part of the problem is that the police are in a no-win situation. If they start seizing quads for the reasons above, people will complain about it.

This is all leading to much stricter regulations and licensing for all of these kinds of vehicles. You can bet on it.

gus: “I have been told that Bylaw Services operates a complaint driven service.”

It seems that bylaw services only like to enforce bylaws that won’t get citizens riled up in some way. What does that leave?

Well, I for one don’t mind seeing the odd ATV or UTV on the side of the highway as long as they are being responsible. Just going from one place to another and not tearing up the road with lots of dust. An ATV or UTV is a serious piece of equipment and requires responsible drivers. In the Yukon they can be licensed for the roads. Often taken mine into town from where I camp to get groceries.

That’s the problem. I don’t think anybody would really mind if ATV riders and UTV drivers were making their way along the side of the road being respectful of residents and traffic. It’s the yahoo’s who feel the need to rip up and down streets with no regards to anyone that people complain about.

First of all, we have to catch them in the act to lay no insurance charges. Second of all they have to stop when the emergency lights come on. If they don’t we do not have the authority to pursue, and our PC’s in most cases will not go where these off road machines can. Thirdly if the people calling refuse to provide their details to dispatchers and let us know lets say which house these atv’s or dirtbikes are coming from,, then we have NO WITNESSES to pursue a court case. It depends on the public caller to step up to the plate and be a witness.