New Jersey Looks to End Off-Road Riding!

BY BRIAN T. MURRAY Star-Ledger Staff
Off-road riders illegally steering their ATVs, snowmobiles and dirt bikes into New Jersey's state parks and wildlife lands may find an unusually bumpy road ahead. A last-minute drive is under way within the lame-duck Legislature to enforce registration of off-road vehicles, while greatly increasing penalties for those caught riding on public lands. Environmentalists, state officials and other outdoorsmen have long complained of the damage the vehicles cause to biologically sensitive properties. But off-roading enthusiasts call the bill (A4172), which cleared an Assembly subcommittee last week, a blatant attempt to ban ATVs, snowmobiles and dirt bikes under the guise of regulating them. The law and its Senate companion (S3024) call for automobile driving license suspensions of up to two years for repeat offenders, as well as stiff fines and even permanent forfeiture of the off-road vehicles. "This bill will do little to enforce the law against the 1 percent of riders breaking the law, but it will go a long way to discourage people from buying off-road vehicles and run dealerships out of business because everyone will be afraid to have one," said Dale Freitas, president of the 300,000-member New Jersey Off-Highway Vehicle Association. Freitas said his group supports registration but only if the state finally takes steps to develop legal parks. "Most riders want to obey the law," he said, "but they have no place to ride." There are no public parks, yet. But the state Department of Environmental Protection has vowed to create three -- sometime soon. DEP officials have tried to appease both sides in the controversy by cracking down on illegal riding while planning and financing the development of off-road parks. Deputy Commissioner John S. Watson said the environmental damage -- not to mention dangers posed to pedestrians -- by illegal riding in state parks, wildlife lands and even on private property is a serious problem. "But we also have to create a legal situation for these riders," Watson said. "We do not want them to have to keep looking over their shoulders when they are out for a day with their families." The DEP already has spent $1.2 million to purchase a 224-acre, former gravel pit in Monroe, Gloucester County, for an off-road park but still is searching for a private vendor interested in developing the facility. It also directed $338,218 in federal trail development funds last month to the nonprofit Atlantic Off-Highway Vehicle Park Inc. to find and develop an off-roading area in Ocean County."From the very beginning, we said we support both initiatives. We will continue to try to get both done," Watson said. "But I don't know that things are going to line up at the same time." The legislative push seems to be further along. Even if the bill fails to get to a vote in the Assembly and Senate before session's end on Jan. 8, it will quickly be reintroduced, vowed Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer), the primary Assembly sponsor. "The testimony on this problem during hearings was very compelling. We've had park rangers and officers hurt trying to stop these ATVs. Open space areas are being destroyed by them, and right now, under the current penalties, the riders do this at no real risk of any punishment," said Gusciora. The proposed law calls for fines of $250 to $500, with a possible automobile licenses suspension of 30 days for first-time offenders. A six-month suspension of driving privileges and fines of up to $1,000 are proposed for a second offense, and a two-year suspension and fines greater than $1,000 are proposed for a third offense. Those under the legal driving age of 17 would have their license suspension imposed on the date they become eligible to drive. The proposed law also calls for restitution payments when land is destroyed, giving judges the ability to fine offenders an amount five times the cost of rehabilitating the property. The vehicles used in the offense also may be impounded by police, and they can be forfeited and sold by the state after a third offense. "It completely undermines the notion of environmental protection to have these things in state parks, on wildlife management areas and on trails," said Jeff Tittel of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club. "It's the opposite of environmental protection. These things dig ruts in the soil, pollute the air and drip gasoline out of their tailpipes." But the proposed legislation may do little to address the concerns, according to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. In a Dec. 13 letter sent to Sen. Robert Smith (D-Middlesex), the Senate sponsor of the bill, the commission said it has no way to enforce the registration requirements. Unlike car dealerships, businesses selling off-road vehicles are not set up to arrange state registrations. "Neither the manufacturers nor the distributors of OHVs (off-highway vehicles) are regulated by the MVC," the letter noted. Since the 1990s, the state has required registration through the MVC of snowmobiles and ATVs used legally on public lands, frozen public waterways and in crossing public highways. But the process is not computerized and dirt bikes have never been registered. The MVC also noted that, while advocates claim hundreds of thousands of off-road vehicles are in private hands in New Jersey, only about 8,300 ATVs are currently registered, along with 2,400 snowmobiles. The MVC suggested, since the major concern is the environmental impact of the vehicles, that a regulatory framework similar to the issuance of hunting and fishing permits be established within the DEP.
Brian Murray may be reached at bmurray@starledger.com.