4 Wheeling In The Creeks.

[jdmidwest]

I hope your joking. If not then your a complete idiot.

I think he was being nice, around here they use a single strand of barbed wire.

Years ago when I was a kid, we used to ride trail bikes in the seventies. After Christmas we took off riding on log roads in a National Forest that contained some private land mixed in. Some landowner decided to put a single strand of barb wire between 2 trees across the road. I was first and saw it too late, hit it and shred a new down vest I had gotten that morning.

[flytyer57]

Came home this afternoon and took a little Siesta. Awoke refreshed and decided to stomp out a creek for some smallie action. Got to the stream and noticed it was muddy. I had crossed it on Friday and water was clear. We had no rain on the weekend. Further investigation revealed the culprit, in stream 4 wheelers. Based on the tracks it looked like a 4 wheeler and a jeep sized vehicle at least, maybe 2. I followed the tracks up several holes and the water was all muddy. Looks like it was done today or last night based on the tracks. There was one spot about knee deep where they had really churned up the gravel in a whole with all 4 turning. It really messed up the fishing and at least one Longear Sunfish bed. I did not follow them all the way up, I turned around disgusted after a few holes. I did manage to catch a few. Reports will be made to the Bollinger County Agent. I hope this will not become a trend again like it was a few years back.

And people wonder why government is always creating new laws and restrictions. Proper use of equipment leads to fewer restrictions and government interference. And this goes to not just ATV's, but guns, motorcycles, cars, etc.

[jdmidwest]

And people wonder why government is always creating new laws and restrictions. Proper use of equipment leads to fewer restrictions and government interference. And this goes to not just ATV's, but guns, motorcycles, cars, etc.

No new law needed here, it is already on the books and has been around for a while. It has been enforced many times, I have witnessed a few myself.

All-terrain vehicles, prohibited on highways, rivers or streams of this state, exceptions, operational requirements--special permits--prohibited uses--penalty.

304.013. 1. No person shall operate an all-terrain vehicle, as defined in section 301.010, RSMo, upon the highways of this state, except as follows:

(1) All-terrain vehicles owned and operated by a governmental entity for official use;

(2) All-terrain vehicles operated for agricultural purposes or industrial on-premises purposes between the official sunrise and sunset on the day of operation;

(3) All-terrain vehicles operated by handicapped persons for short distances occasionally only on the state's secondary roads when operated between the hours of sunrise and sunset;

(4) Governing bodies of cities may issue special permits to licensed drivers for special uses of all-terrain vehicles on highways within the city limits. Fees of fifteen dollars may be collected and retained by cities for such permits;

(5) Governing bodies of counties may issue special permits to licensed drivers for special uses of all-terrain vehicles on county roads within the county. Fees of fifteen dollars may be collected and retained by the counties for such permits.

2. No person shall operate an off-road vehicle within any stream or river in this state, except that off-road vehicles may be operated within waterways which flow within the boundaries of land which an off-road vehicle operator owns, or for agricultural purposes within the boundaries of land which an off-road vehicle operator owns or has permission to be upon, or for the purpose of fording such stream or river of this state at such road crossings as are customary or part of the highway system. All law enforcement officials or peace officers of this state and its political subdivisions or department of conservation agents or department of natural resources park rangers shall enforce the provisions of this subsection within the geographic area of their jurisdiction.

3. A person operating an all-terrain vehicle on a highway pursuant to an exception covered in this section shall have a valid operator's or chauffeur's license, except that a handicapped person operating such vehicle pursuant to subdivision (3) of subsection 1 of this section, but shall not be required to have passed an examination for the operation of a motorcycle, and the vehicle shall be operated at speeds of less than thirty miles per hour. When operated on a highway, an all-terrain vehicle shall have a bicycle safety flag, which extends not less than seven feet above the ground, attached to the rear of the vehicle. The bicycle safety flag shall be triangular in shape with an area of not less than thirty square inches and shall be day-glow in color.

4. No persons shall operate an all-terrain vehicle:

(1) In any careless way so as to endanger the person or property of another;

(2) While under the influence of alcohol or any controlled substance;

(3) Without a securely fastened safety helmet on the head of an individual who operates an all-terrain vehicle or who is being towed or otherwise propelled by an all-terrain vehicle, unless the individual is at least eighteen years of age.

5. No operator of an all-terrain vehicle shall carry a passenger, except for agricultural purposes. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any all-terrain vehicle in which the seat of such vehicle is designed to carry more than one person.

6. A violation of this section shall be a class C misdemeanor. In addition to other legal remedies, the attorney general or county prosecuting attorney may institute a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction for injunctive relief to prevent such violation or future violations and for the assessment of a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars per day of violation.

(L. 1988 H.B. 990, A.L. 1990 H.B. 1279, A.L. 1997 H.B. 389, A.L. 2004 H.B. 996 and H.B. 1142 and H.B. 1201 and H.B. 1489 merged with S.B. 1233, et al.)

[flytyer57]

No new law needed here, it is already on the books and has been around for a while. It has been enforced many times, I have witnessed a few myself.

Yes, it is against the law, and these idiots scream about it all the time.

All I'm trying to point out is that because of a certain few, who cannot follow common sense, they have to regulate these types of activities.

There are idiots out there who think they can do just abut anything, and wonder why government is always getting bigger and imposing more and more restrictions on them.

[Gatorjet]

As an ATV rider I am NOT going to try to defend in any way the actions of these riders. Rather I will scornfully condemn them! Like slob hunters, un-sportsman like fishermen, and many other just plain stupid people in this world, I hope they some day get what is due them.

There are plenty of private ATV and off-road parks, State Parks for off roading, and approved and maintained National Forest trails. Nobody needs to be abusing the property of others, or of the State.

[Coldspring]

Could have been kids that didn't know any better, you never know. I think kids like to play in the creeks more than adults, but that's only an observation based on a small sample. Kid's like to mud too. The riders I've actually seen on the hiking trails weren't kids, or at least kids weren't the leaders...like the father that teaches his kids to roadhunt, poach, trespass, shoot signs, litter, be illiterate, cuss, spit, etc...

[gotmuddy]

As an ATV rider I am NOT going to try to defend in any way the actions of these riders. Rather I will scornfully condemn them! Like slob hunters, un-sportsman like fishermen, and many other just plain stupid people in this world, I hope they some day get what is due them.

There are plenty of private ATV and off-road parks, State Parks for off roading, and approved and maintained National Forest trails. Nobody needs to be abusing the property of others, or of the State.

I feel the same way. Except that we own all land, the state is just a steward.

We had thousands of acred of forest to ride in but a few idiots ruined it for everyone

[Coldspring]

I feel the same way. Except that we own all land, the state is just a steward.

We had thousands of acred of forest to ride in but a few idiots ruined it for everyone

I think it is more than a few. There are certain areas around the MTNF where you see trailer after trailer of ATVs being hauled in on a Sat. morning, and you know they all aren't headed to ride in a completely legal manner.

I wish there were more areas designated for riders, I like riding myself, but never cared for mudding and the like. I think there's a lot of animosity between the hiker community and atv riders, the hikers see them are trail destroyers and even as physically threatening when encountered on the trail, while the atv riders see those little sissy hikers as the ones that took their rights to ride away.

[Gatorjet]

I also wish there were more areas opened for ATVs.

Last September I spent a week with my son, daughter-in-law, and her parents riding the Hatfield/McCoy Trail System in Southern West Virginia. Over 500 miles of trails in 6 trail systems. A lot of the land used is from the coal mining and natural gas industry. Old haul roads with added trails through the rough Appalachian Mountain terrain. The remainder of the area is on private property that the state of West Virginia and the H/M Trail System administration have gotten permission to use. We road over 250 miles in 6 days of riding.

ATVing has become a large part of the economy for Gilbert, Mann, Pineville, Matwain, and other communities in that part of West Virginia. There are some places in this state where similar programs would work if the slob riders could be kept out of the picture.

[jdmidwest]

I also wish there were more areas opened for ATVs.

Last September I spent a week with my son, daughter-in-law, and her parents riding the Hatfield/McCoy Trail System in Southern West Virginia. Over 500 miles of trails in 6 trail systems. A lot of the land used is from the coal mining and natural gas industry. Old haul roads with added trails through the rough Appalachian Mountain terrain. The remainder of the area is on private property that the state of West Virginia and the H/M Trail System administration have gotten permission to use. We road over 250 miles in 6 days of riding.

ATVing has become a large part of the economy for Gilbert, Mann, Pineville, Matwain, and other communities in that part of West Virginia. There are some places in this state where similar programs would work if the slob riders could be kept out of the picture.

Most counties let you ride the county road system here in MO. Also, there are miles of gravel forestry roads that let you accomplish the same. The problems that have been an issue is using stream beds for trails and hiking trails for trails. We also have St Joe park which has miles of trails, hills, and lead tailings to play on.