Kevin Laliberte
Editor, Smoky River Express

Should mandatory licensing be in place here in Alberta when it comes to operating an ATV or snowmobile? It’s a serious question which many safety advocates are asking these days based on an increasing frequency of reported serious injuries and deaths here in Alberta. I tend to get a nauseating feeling in the pit of my stomach each and every time I hear the grim news about yet another ATV/snowmobile injury or fatality here in Alberta, especially when it involves a child. What I find particularly disturbing, if not appalling, is the fact that here in Alberta we have zero, zippo and zilch in the form of government legislation mandating the use of helmets on ATV’s or snowmobilers for that matter. Yup, you heard me right. In fact, Alberta and British Columbia are the only provinces in Canada which presently don’t require ATV or snowmobile operators to wear a certified helmet for protection. Now that you’ve had an opportunity to chew on that seemingly illogical tidbit of information, let’s shift gears and stoke the fire for change by acknowledging there are presently no age restrictions in place here in Alberta for operating ATV’s/snowmobiles on private land. Operators are, however, required to be 14 years of age or older or be supervised by someone 18 and up when operating these machines off private land. And you don’t even need an operator’s license to do so, believe it or not. This may not be of significant concern among safety-conscious parents who introduced and educated their children about the potential dangers of both recreational off-road activities at a young age while emphasizing the need to wear a protective helmets and clothing at all times. Despite all of this preventative medicine and tutoring, the fact remains that accidents involving children and ATV’s are continuing to occur with alarming frequency. Supporting this trend is a recent University of Alberta study which goes as far as urging parents to keep their children off ATV’s altogether. Interestingly enough, the research shows an 83 per cent increase in ATV-related deaths in Alberta between 2005 and 2006 with 10 children under 16 and another seven between the age of 16 and 19 losing their lives. From the overall number of ATV deaths reported (all ages), a surprising 66 per cent were not wearing helmets while 58 per cent of the victims tested positive for alcohol use. Leading the way in terms of trips to the local hospital during that same period of time was the Peace River region, which doubled the overall provincial rural rate with 560 visits per 100,000 residents. The Canada Safety Council, meanwhile, points out that males between the ages of 15 and 19 are most affected in terms of age demographics when it comes to severe ATV injuries with speed, alcohol and inexperience accounting for much of the problem. All of these statistics combined have raised a number of red flags among safety advocates, many of whom argue that licensing, training and helmet use should all be mandatory requirements for ATV’s and snowmobile operators in Alberta. As it presently stands, the Traffic Safety Act only deals with automobiles and motorcycle legislation. Off-road vehicles, on the other hand, are not subject to any licensing requirements. And that’s something which needs to change, sooner rather than later.

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