Published: Monday, Sep. 08, 2008 / Updated: Monday, Sep. 08, 2008 07:20 AM

Landowners push ATV law

Riders say new rule won't solve problem

York County landowners' complaints about all-terrain vehicle riders rumbling over -- and damaging -- their property has prompted county leaders to pursue a law that would penalize those who joyride on others' acreage.

But local ATV enthusiasts doubt a new rule will solve the problem.

A week from today, the York County Council is expected to take the second of the three votes needed to make the law permanent. The new rule would require anyone who wants to ride on private property to first receive written permission from the landowner.

If someone is caught riding without permission, that individual could be fined from $300 to $500 or jailed for 30 days.

"People certainly have a right to have ATVs," County Councilman Tom Smith said at a meeting last month. "They just don't have the right to drive them on other people's property without asking for permission."

ATV riders who bounce across private property have been a "tremendous problem" in the western section of the county around Sharon, said County Councilman Joe Cox, who represents that area.

"I'm very happy we have something going forward on this," he said during last month's meeting.

But some people who ride ATVs think passing a law is the wrong approach.

"We've become a country of laws and lawsuits," said Byron Hager, general manager of Hager Cycle World in Rock Hill. "I just think it's a waste of money and time putting another law on the books when they could go get 'em for trespassing."

Deputies can't charge someone with trespassing if that person is riding on land that isn't marked with "no trespassing" signs or if that person hasn't been told to stay away, said Capt. Allen Brandon of the York County Sheriff's Office.

Many property owners, he said, don't put up "no trespassing" signs and those who do often don't place them on all sides of their land. Even the acres controlled by utility companies don't always have proper signage.

The sheriff's office doesn't track the number of calls about ATV riders, but Brandon said the agency receives numerous complaints.

"It's been a big problem for us for many years now," he said.

Riding on unfamiliar territory also can be dangerous for ATV riders, Brandon said.

"I've been to scenes where bodies have been decapitated," he said, "because they were riding on someone else's property and didn't know the layout or boundaries, didn't know the fenceline and ran up under a steel cable."

Brandon, who heads the agency's patrol division, said the law would allow deputies to hold people accountable.

"It's really a tool for us to make sure that we have the authority to cite those who ... don't drive responsibly," he said.

Although council members have already voted on the law once, officials say the ordinance could change by the final draft.

During the August meeting, council members discussed adding stiffer penalties for violators, such as impounding their ATVs. Sheriff Bruce Bryant wants the law expanded to include dirt bikes. Smith asked if violators could be forced to pay for damaged property, even though state law already addresses that.

"Nobody calls you up and says, 'Hey, I'm gonna go tear up your lawn," he said. "It burns me up. It just seems like, 'I've got a machine. I can ride it wherever I want.'"

Increasing the penalties, however, isn't the only option to solving the problem, said Gregg Rylee, general manager of Alpha Motorsports, a local ATV dealership.

"You can almost put it back on the county," he said. "If the county actually would give us some public land to use for a riding facility, we wouldn't have all these problems."

Local folks looking for a place to ride have to drive to TNT Motorsports Park in Chester County or Carolina Adventure World in Fairfield County, Rylee said.

If York County had a similar site, he said, people could pay to visit. Rylee said he's heard about the problems in the Sharon area, where riders blazed a trail through the territory of unhappy landowners.

"They don't have anywhere to ride," he said. "Unfortunately, they're terrorizing people's private property."

County manager Jim Baker said a key element of the ATV law is that it would hold both the riders and the owners of the vehicles responsible. That, he said, makes parents accountable for kids who don't follow the rules.

"If I'm looking at potentially paying a ($300-$500) fine if I let my children ride unattended or unsupervised," he said, "that's a pretty good incentive for me to pay attention to what they're doing."

Hager also thinks more parental guidance is needed, but not another law.

"It's just getting more and more restricted," he said. "The biggest problem with most of these ATV accidents are people riding without a helmet and people drinking and driving. You know, (people) doing stuff they're not supposed to be. Constantly. I don't know the answer. We preach safety, safety, safety to them. ...

"I see an adult male riding a motorcycle down the road with no helmet on, I'm thinking to myself, this joker does not understand. I took my kids and I took a helmet, dropped it on the concrete in front of them. And then I took a watermelon, and I said, 'Now, watch this watermelon.' And I dropped it and it busted open and all that red juice run out. And I said, 'That's your brain if you don't wear a helmet.'"

Leaders hope to get some feedback about the proposed law at their Sept. 15 council meeting. The public will have a chance to weigh in on the matter then.