A recent accident on a back road in Montezuma County serves as a reminder to drivers of off-highway vehicles to be extra careful, say officials with Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
The man operating the OHV was driving on a dirt road in the San Juan National Forest that is open to OHV travel. He drove into the oncoming lane at a blind curve and collided with a car. The man swerved to avoid a head-on collision, but was ejected from the OHV, hit the windshield of the car, and sustained two broken toes and plenty of serious scrapes and bruises. He was transported to a local hospital where he was treated.
“It’s amazing he wasn’t more badly injured,” said Scot Elder, manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife at Mancos and Lone Mesa state parks. “OHVs are especially vulnerable to accidents if drivers don’t operate them safely.”
The man driving the OHV was ticketed and fined $75.
In Colorado, from 1982 through 2011, the Colorado State Patrol reports that 157 people were killed in OHV-related accidents – including 26 children under the age of 16. Nationally, from 1982 to 2010, 11,000 people died in OHV accidents, 25 percent of them under age 16.
“When OHVs are operated improperly they present a lot of safety problems,” Elder said. “Helmets are not required, but we do recommend using them.”
OHVs can carry a lot of speed, but they’re also light, narrow and have a short wheel base. So they are not as stable as regular vehicles on rough roads and trails where an operator might drive over boulders, rocks and tree roots. Even dirt roads in wash-board condition present hazards to OHV drivers.
“At almost any speed drivers can get tossed around and OHVs can tip over. So they must be operated at the right speed for the conditions,” Elder said.
Even though there are no regulations governing how many people can ride on an OHV, passengers often interfere with the driver. Drivers can be ticketed in those situations. Elder explained that a driver’s ability to steer a vehicle, apply the brakes and operate the transmission is often compromised when one or more passengers are riding on an OHV that’s only built for one person.
“Drivers get scrunched against the handlebars so they can’t make a full or a quick turn, visibility can be impaired, and OHVs can become more unstable with more weight,” Elder said. “Having more than one person on most OHVs is inherently dangerous.”
On trails, OHV drivers should be extra careful if they see horses approaching. Some horses spook easily if they see something they don’t recognize. Elder recommends that drivers pull off the trail, then get off the vehicle to allow a horse to recognize a human form.
Reporting of OHV accidents is required by Colorado law. Any crash that cause injuries resulting in hospitalization or death, or more than $1,500 in damage to a vehicle must be reported “by the quickest available means of communication” to a local law enforcement agency.
The operator involved in the accident, or someone acting on his or her behalf, must also submit a written report about the accident to Colorado Parks and Wildlife within 48 hours. The report must be compiled on the form available at the Colorado Parks and Wildlife web site.
Overall, Elder reminds OHV owners and operators that in many situations they share the road with much larger vehicles, and on steep backcountry roads OHVs are not as stable as regular four-wheel drive vehicles.
“OHVs have their place. But operators must remember that OHVs don’t handle like a car or a truck; and the consequences of even a minor accident can be severe. Exercise extra caution,” Elder said.
To learn more about OHVs safety and regulations, go to this Colorado Parks and Wildlife website: http://www.parks.state.co.us and click on OHVs & Snowmobiles.
