My old home state of Minnesota Star Tribune completed a very good review of ATV safety. Minnesota is home to Polaris and Arctic Cat and knows a thing or two about ATVs. The last of five installments was riding ATVs on hard surface roads. This is a 2014 article and maybe somewhat dated.

I found it interesting and balanced. I'm a "street legal" ATV advocate, but I understand both sides of the debate. I believe that safety can be improved on hard surface roads with "street tires" that have stronger sidewalls, less aggressive tread patterns, and allow a bit more pressure. My ITP terra cross ATV tires recommend 7 psi. I think normal trail tires are 5 psi or so. I see plenty of off highway Jeeps around Colorado with these big off highway tires with aggressive treads, but they have a "square profile" and strong sidewalls. They are very different than the hemorrhoid donut pillow shaped tires normally found on trail ATVs. I fully understand even "all season passenger car" tires are not going to make a huge difference in the inherent instability of the short wheelbase, high ground clearance, high CG design of the ATV. I do think a "hard surface" tire with stronger sidewalls would reduce the tendency to keel under and cause a rollover. This was certainly the case with sports cars with high lateral G force cornering abilities. I've never seen a sports car with trail ATV tires on it.

I thought at least two of your folks would find this an interesting read:

Part Five: Dangerous terrain: ATVs and open roads in Minnesota - StarTribune.com

David

 

I didn't read the article. I just looked at the pictures and wonder where everyone's helmets are.

 

I wondered the same thing Jumbo. The motorcycle helmet requirement is an age old debate. I think people ought to have freedom to chose. I think a reasonable person would conclude proper safety gear is worthwhile in avoiding serious injuries. And I think people can choose to meet the local requirements for riding on secondary roads (extra costs) or just leave the ATV in the barn and use it only in off road situations.

The article raises serious doubts about allowing ATVs on public roads, and gives anecdotal evidence that doing so is really results in little harm. People get used to this "new fangled" motor vehicle running around their secondary roads.

The article talks about more and more states and counties are allowing ATVs on the roads. I think this is good for the hobby.

David

 

I did catch the part where a drunk driver in a truck ran a stop sign and hit and killed a 14 year old boy driving a Gator 825i. Since the boy was underage, it made it sound like the accident was his fault. It makes it sound like the drunk driver who broke 2 laws(driving drunk and running a stop sign, probably speeding as well) got off the hook because he he hit an underage utv driver. That is the biggest fear in allowing unlimited access of atvs on too many roads. Atvs vs a car or truck always lose. Utvs have a better chance because of bigger size, weight and somewhat of a safety cage around the riders but still will always fare worse than the full-size vehicle in a crash. They were never meant to withstand being hit by a car or truck, just to be able to withstand being hit by another utv. I'm all for allowing more access but its inevitable that more accidents will occur. You can't legislate common sense. The car and truck drivers on these type of roads many times drive too fast and ignore stop signs even if they're not impaired. Just yesterday I was doing this type of riding locally and I saw a truck approaching a stop sign coming toward me. I slowed down and waited to make sure they would stop before I went through the intersection even though I had the right of way. I made the assumption they might not see me or might not care either. A younger rider most likely wouldn't have the wisdom to see this, much like the incident where the truck struck the gator. An experienced rider might have seen the truck was going too fast to stop and simply let them blast past and stopped and waited.

 

Good question. Another thing is why are there so many states that it's not legal at all for an ATVs. I have tried researching this a bit myself. I found that if your willing to put the parts in it to make it legal, it should be legal...... But up here is Michigan I still can't....

 

I can't legally ride the roads here in Colorado either. I wish I could.

It is certainly true no ATV will fair well in a collision with a car. Neither would a motorcycle. The vehicle with the most mass wins nearly every time.

I do think safety equipment similar to motorcycles would make ATVs a bit safer on the roads. Things like headlights always on, helmets, eye protection, turn signals, mirrors, horn and the like would help. Being a licensed driver in your state would be necessary. 14 year olds are not allowed. And being restricted to secondary roads with speeds posted 45 mph or less keeps a slow moving ATV off a major highway. ATVs would adhere to all state and local traffic laws of course.

And only ATV owners who wish to ride on secondary roads would need to go through the hassle and expense of getting the registration and license. Other ATV owners would just as soon stay on the trails and not risk riding with traffic on secondary roads. That is fine.

David

 

Have been shopping for tires and ran across a nice dual sport tread. Unfortunately I didn't keep the info since it's not available for an 11" wheel. When you get into a 10" or 12-14", tire choices are a lot broader.

My last quad had a 10" street radial up front, with grooves cut for dirt riding.

We're legal here on unmarked secondary roads. Permitted on the berm of marked highways, only to the next secondary or dirt road. For marked highways, the law reads something like.. "shall use the berm wherever possible, using the marked lane only to avoid obstacles, etc. ... to reach the next unmarked secondary road".

Sort of odd... Helmets are required here for motorcycles on the street, but I've yet to see or hear of anyone stopped for no helmet on an atv while operating on a legal route.

Twitchy handling and center of gravity aside, I see no difference between an atv in traffic and a street legal scooter under 100cc. Scooters are everywhere, some states don't even require a license to operate, folks in Ky call them liquor sickles. Get a DUI? Get a liquor sickle!

My friend swears he sees a quad all decked out in street legal hardware sitting at Walmart. License plate and all. I say I have to see it myself... and then I'll have questions.

 

It is great you can ride on unmarked secondary roads and gain access to them via the "berm". Utah is one state where you can install street legal equipment and gain a registration and license plate. There are other states that do this too. Now you can ride your ATV to work!

David