As summer gets into full swing, police in Fort St. John say they have received an increase in complaints about dirt bikers and ATV’s, who are unsafely operating their off-road vehicles, many in places they should not be.
The majority of complaints stem from unsafe and erratic operation of off-road vehicles on either streets and walking paths or from drivers riding without helmets.
A large portion of the complaints have been received from pedestrians or homeowners along the Solar Trail in the city’s northwest.
Complaints include off-road vehicle operators driving erratically, cutting drivers off on the street, driving close to and almost colliding with pedestrians on the walking paths.
The City of Fort St John already has posted signage, prohibiting off-road vehicles from utilizing the Solar Path in the north end of Fort St John.
Failure to wear helmets is also a concern as many of the riders are not wearing helmets. Police said that for quads and dirt bikes, helmets are the most important safety equipment a rider can wear and most are not wearing anything. Seatbelts are often not utilized in side by sides.
The Fort St John RCMP request that riders and parents of younger riders operate their off-road vehicles in a manner they were intended to be used, considering their own safety and wellbeing and that of pedestrians and homeowners around that area.
”Wearing a helmet, respecting the laws and other people are simple things that go a long way toward personal safety as well as building community,” said Constable Chad Neustaeter, Media Relations Officer for the Fort St John RCMP.
Operators could face various penalties including a $100 city bylaw ticket for operating an off-road vehicle within the boundaries of the city, BC Motor Vehicle Act violation tickets from $138 for not wearing a helmet up to $598 for No Insurance when driving on roadways, or Criminal Code charges if a driver or pedestrian was injured or killed.