Sept 17 we attended a Poker ride benefit In S.E. indiana. 148 quads!! some with 2 riders (approx 200 people). We would stop every 45 minutes to an hour at a different farm to rest and pick up a raffle ticket. On the way to the last stop we were approached by the COs (conservation officers) who started breathalyzing people and checking their papers. Some riders were consuming alcohol, but at a rate of 1 beer per hour (3 stops) followed by a lot of non-stop riding, noone was out of control. The organizers were very diligent about insuring that everyone was orderly so They wouldn't lose their privilages of riding on all these farms. Many of us have CDL liscences and that means a much lower ceiling for "legally impaired." Noone wanted to chance a DUI so we sat at a farm while the COs sat at the end of the driveway harrassing anyone who wanted to leave. One Officer was on the phone calling for "every available CO in the area and we will need all the police the sherriffs in the 2 closest counties can provide." Most of the riders had no clue where we were or how to get back to their trucks. The CO had already posted officers at the parking lot to breathalyze anyone who pulled into the lot, in case someone escaped out the back way.

The CO said "its great you're trying to help save a little girls life but its not worth the risk that all these people will be killed trying to do it."

The COs had no visible markings on them or their quads and weren't wearing helmets. One commented that his " gun was in his box but against 200 people that wouldn't help a lot."

To be fair, I must add that all the problems were created by one officer (Barney??) who was sure we all were about to kill ourselves. The other officers were pretty cool about the whole thing and even said they would let us all ride back to the trucks and keep an eye on all who wanted to leavefrom there. But the gung-ho guy was adamantly opposed. He was constantly calling on his phone to find out where his backup was because he couldn't arrest 200 people by himself.

The organizers had already cleared everything with the local police, but the COs took that as an invitation.

The state of Indiana has added lots-o-COs because they are not subjected to the the same laws as the police. They dont have to abide by the US constitution and they have the authority to cancel all of your rights without just cause. This is because they have the responsibility of protecting wildlife and anywhere an animal may, or may not go, they have the authority to go.

 

Hey I'm really sorry to hear about barney fife and his one bullet, harrassing everyone in your group. You know it never seems to end. Hear in New York State they raised our registration fees to 25 dollars from 10 dollars and were supposed to give us all this wonderfull money for a trail system that they won't give us. Well they took in over 6 million dollars extra and gave us 850 thousand back for the trails. OOPs they were going to give us the 850 thousand but our legislatures went on vacation before they could ok the bill to give us a lousy 850 thousand out of over 6 million they brought in. So they put it back into the general fund. Which means in NYS that that money is gone forever. So better luck next year!!!

 

Registration is fifty something here I remember when I was a kid it was like twelve. 80% of registered atvs and trailbikes are in southern NH while 90% of the legal trails are way up north. I don't believe that we get our fair share towards the trails either. Any good trails are made and maintained by clubs anyway, so they're the ones that should get the registration money instead of the state. Fish cops (State fish and game) here harrass atvs also. They have more authority than state police. And you'd think that registration fees go to the dmv, nope fish and game issue the registrations to the retailers. They go june to june no pro-rating either. So, if it's june and you want to register a quad you have to pay for a full year and get less than a month. Even though your registration is good from june to june, they convientely don't send them out until the third week in june. And if you get a new quad, you can't transfer the registration like a car. Plus once you sell your quad, the registration is invalid. If you can't transfer to your other quad, you should at least be able to pass it on as a selling point. So they make a ton of money off us.

 

Wow! Now thats a great scam!!

It used to be $6 for 3 years and voluntary. Now its $30/3yrs and its mandatory on all new quads. We get NOTHING!!! No trails. etc. We do get to ride on the non highway roads outside city limits.

 

Well I had my first personal experiance with a fish cop today. I always heard they were real a-holes from everyone that had been busted by them. But this guy was real nice, although he did give a ticket to a buddy that wasn't registered. He was letting us know of some good trails in the area and searching his truck for some maps but didn't have any with him. Usually you gotta pay 7-10 bucks for one. He didn't treat my buddy, or anyone like a scumbag or anything. He ended up hanging out with us for 30-45 minutes and shootin the poo about wheelin. I was surprised cause I've always heard they were jerks. I've definetely had worse experiences with regular cops. And another friend was riding this trail on private property and the cops showed up. The landowner came out and told the cop not to give them a ticket and let them ride. The cop gave them a ticket anyway cause they didn't have written permission and another cause he wasn't registered. On private property with landowner telling him to leave them alone.

 

There's good cops and bad cops. My Dad was a cincy cop for 38 years so I've known a lot of them.

My brother reported his 17 yr old daughter missing @3am on a school nite. They found her roaming down the street, drunk and high. My brother told the cop to take her to jail to teach her a lesson. They arrested HIM!!!

 

That's just retarded. WTF!! They should just blame Bush for the girl being drunk and high, that seems to be the popular thing to do.

 

Eiger2,
I hate to say it, but your wrong. The state of Indiana does have 2 riding areas one of which is closed for now, but one is currently open and plans to add additonal area next spring (800+ acres)
http://www.redbirdsra.com/
The one that is currently closed is Interlake, which is in Warrick and part of Pike County. It will be muli-user (horseback, hunters and OHV)
Its currently closed to OHV, but is being used by horses and Hunters til Feb.1,2006 At which time the state will start with a reclamlation project (old Coal mine) and HOPES to Reopen late spring 2007. As you know anything with the state is slow going, but its a start.

 

I'M WRONG??????!!!!!!

OK, we do have Redbird, and from what I hear its a really nice place. Its a lot closer to you than it is to me. Look what they're doing over in Harlan Ky. They plan to link up a whole bunch of counties, Heaven. I know we don't have any areas you could build a Windrock if ya wanted too. The ability to ride on county roads is nice but we should be allowed on the bigger roads too. I can take my tractor anywhere I want.


Registration used to be $6/3yrs, and voluntary. Now it mandatory for newly sold quads, $30/3yrs.====LOTS_O_MONEY!!!!!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]


Hey Mudboss, I'm planning to come to evansville Nov 17-22 to do some riding with my son and future son-in-law. It seems everyone will be out huntig. We prolly will check out Redbird. I'd love to hook up with some locals and ride on some less public areas. I'll bring my Eiger and my S/L has a 250x.

 

Originally posted by Sparky8370: They should just blame Bush for_______ , that seems to be the popular thing to do.

Great quote from nearly 1 1/2 years ago, even more true today....