Kewaunee County Sheriff Matt Joski is reminding ATV riders that just because your community allows it does not make your vehicle legal. Many municipalities in Kewaunee County passed an ordinance last year to allow ATVs on their roads given a few conditions. Some of those include a minimum age, a maximum speed, and a restriction on roads that can be used. Joski says one often ignored by riders are specific modifications owners may make to their ATV. In many cases, those modifications are not allowed under the ordinance whether it be exhaust systems or tires.
Joski says because of the handling of low-pressure tires on paved surfaces, he does not believe there will be too many ATVs on area roads for long periods of time. The town of Franklin, the cities of Algoma and Kewaunee, and the village of Luxemburg are the only municipalities in Kewaunee County without the ATV ordinance enacted.
MORE FROM SHERIFF JOSKI
Over the past few years I have written articles regarding first the consideration of ATV use on local roadways, then the development of a county ordinance for the purpose of enforcement, and more recently an update on the passage of such ordinances by local Towns, Cities and Villages. This week, I want to address some of the questions and concerns I have received throughout the past few weeks as more and more people are making use of local roads due to the implementation of local ordinances authorizing operation of ATVs on public roadways.
First let’s go over what roads are involved when a community passes such an ordinance. If a Town, City or Village authorizes the use of ATVs on their roads, then all of their respective town, city or village roads are able to be traveled with these units. In addition, if a county or state road runs through that community and those sections of county or state roads are posted 35mph or less they too are authorized for use by ATVs. Once those county or state roads leave that jurisdiction, or the posted speed limits of those county or state roads elevate above 35 mph, those roads are no longer authorized. It is also important to note that for any section of road to be authorized those roads must first be posted by that local authority with signage indicating such authorization.
Some of the most frequent questions I get are from residents who live on a state or county road and want to travel on those roads to get to a town road. This is not authorized unless those sections of roads are posted less than 35mph.
Another question I receive is related to the age of operation. By state law you can operate an ATV at the age of 12 on private property and local trails, however in creating safety parameters within the local ordinances, the minimum age for operation on an authorized public roadway was set at 16 years of age with a valid driver’s license. Aside from the obvious concerns surrounding the operation of an ATV on a roadway shared with motor vehicles, the other concern was that of those who do not qualify for a license using these ordinances as a way to circumvent the law.
Just as it is the case with equipment on motor vehicles, there are also requirements related to the equipment of ATVs operating on the roads. The main one of course is the requirement to wear a helmet, but also the requirement of an unmodified, functioning exhaust as we did not want to create an environment where modified units are able to disrupt the tranquility of our communities.
I want to thank those communities who have embarked on this endeavor of allowing these units on their roads. While I will be the first to acknowledge that such co-mingling of recreational vehicles with standard motor vehicles is not my ideal public safety traffic environment, we can be proud that we created consistent and common sense criteria surrounding such use throughout Kewaunee County.
