Should a license be required to operate an ATV?

Hunting season is in full swing for those who use an ATV to access their favorite spots. The boating season is winding down, but there is still a need to access that favorite duck blind or to reach that secret hunting spot on the other side of the river. In another couple of months, snowmachines will be buzzing all over the countryside.

Last week, I read about the local man who was killed in an ATV accident. There have been other stories throughout the summer about other folks either killed or injured in ATV accidents. There have been similar stories regarding fatal or injury accidents with various types of watercraft across Alaska over this same time period.

Normally, I’ll read the story and think how stupid the idiot drunk was who was involved in the accident or about the foolish kid doing a stupid thing with the vehicle and getting either hurt or killed. If the story indicated the injured or dead off-road vehicle operator was not at fault, I’ll feel a moment of sympathy and then get on with life.

Last week, coincidently, I met a young man who had survived a serious off-road vehicle accident in which he had been the “victim” rather than the perpetrator. He suffered permanent, life-changing injuries in addition to the multiple broken bones, dislocated joints, and internal injuries from which he has since recovered.

When I noticed the obvious permanent injury, I asked him if he was comfortable talking about what happened or if he would prefer not to address the situation. To my surprise, he was quite willing to explain what happened and the general extent of his injuries. I was pleasantly surprised to see he appeared to hold no grudge against the other party. In fact, he was very positive about the whole situation, even though the permanent injury has forever changed his life and how he will live it.

This young man is probably more the exception than the standard for these type accident survivors because he seems to have accepted and adjusted very well to the situation he has been dealt in life. Not everybody ever fully recovers mentally from this sort of traumatic life change.

Several years ago, in this column, I called for the state to require an off-road vehicle license for any operator of an ATV, any type of powered watercraft, and any snowmachine or mechanized vehicle designed to travel over the snow. I still think that would be a good idea!

Ordinarily, I am not a big supporter of more government intrusion in my life. However, keep in mind that, while it is my right to own a firearm, it is a privilege to drive my truck on the highway. It is my right to practice the religion of my choice; free from government interference, but it is a privilege to operate my riverboat or my ATV or my snowmachine.

Being a privilege, the government has the ability to set the rules for my legal use of these types of vehicles and can impose age or educational requirements to try and provide for the community’s public safety. The educational and safety aspects are where I’m coming from regarding a license requirement.

In an ideal world, if I was looking to buy a riverboat, I would seek out the necessary training and operational instruction on my own, either prior to purchase or before I would operate the boat on a public waterway. I would make sure I had the correct type of insurance coverage of an ample amount to protect myself and others from injury or property damage as a result of any mishap which might occur. And, yes, even the best, most highly trained and skilled operators still have things happen which they were not prepared for at the time it happened.

The same scenario would apply to ATV and snowmachine operation as well.

We don’t live in an ideal world. I got involved in teaching recreational boating safety after a good friend and my future teaching partner told me about the couple who showed up at the boat launch one day with a brand new riverboat in tow. The man came into the office and asked my friend if he would please show the man where the ignition was, so he could get the boat running and take his wife for a ride. I guess the guy figured that, since he was a guy, he was genetically programmed to instinctively know how to operate a riverboat.

In Alaska, probably no more than about 7 percent of all boaters have ever taken a boating safety class. And Alaska leads the nation in recreational boating-related deaths. I suspect the same lack of training applies to most ATV and snowmachine operators as well. And we regularly read about some ATV or snowmachine accident involving either a death or serious injury.

While the requirement for an off-road license won’t eliminate all accidents, just as the requirement for a driver’s license hasn’t eliminated highway accidents, being required to pass some sort of educational and proficiency training program should significantly reduce the number of deaths and injuries when operating an off-road vehicle.

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. You can leave him a message by e-mailing sports@frontiersman.com.