The Shawano Field Committee gave a favorable recommendation Oct. 28 to the Shawano Common Council on revising its policy on all-terrain vehicles and utility-terrain vehicles operating on city streets.
The discussion of off-road vehicles and their impact on the community has been taking place at the city and county levels for more than a year. Earlier this year, the Shawano County Board of Supervisors approved its own policy requiring ATV and UTV operators to have valid driver’s licenses and forbidding open intoxicants, two measures that state laws do not have.
These are the revisions that the field committee are sending to the council:
• All ATV/UTV operators are required to display fully functional lighted headlamps (white light), tail lamps (red light) and brake lights at all times while operating on all segments of city roads. Off-road auxiliary lighting on ATVs/UTVs are prohibited on city roadways.
• No person younger than 12 shall operate an ATV or UTV under any circumstance.
• Persons 16 or older must possess a valid driver’s license to operate an ATV or UTV on all segments of city roads and shall have the valid driver’s license in his or her immediate possession during operation.
• No person younger than 16 may operate an ATV or UTV on any segment of city roads, unless he or she is accompanied by his or her parent or guardian or by a person who is at least 18 who is designated by the parent or guardian. Anyone accompanying those younger than 16 must possess a valid driver’s license.
• All operators born on or after Jan. 1, 1988, and are older than of 12 are required to complete an approved ATV/UTV safety course and shall possess a valid safety certificate to operate an ATV/UTV.
• No person may operate or be a passenger on an ATV or UTV without wearing protective headgear of the type required in Wisconsin statutes, section 347.485(1)(a), unless the person is a least 18.
• Open containers of alcoholic beverages or other intoxicants are prohibited for an ATV/UTV operator or passengers while operating on any roadways in the city.
• A golf cart is not an ATV or UTV. Operation of golf carts on city roadways is prohibited.
• Every ATV/UTV shall be equipped, maintained and operated to prevent excessive or unusual noise. No person shall operate an ATV/UTV on a city roadway unless such ATV/UTV is equipped with a muffler or other noise-suppressing system in good working order and in constant operation. It shall be unlawful to use a muffler cutout, bypass or similar device on any ATV/UTV in a manner such that noise emitted by the ATV/UTV increases to a level higher than as originally manufactured.
There had previously been some discussion about ATVs and UTVs having insurance, just as motor vehicles must have. However, the insurance requirement is not on the city’s final recommendation, and the county did not require it in its revised ordinance.
“The county has made modifications to their ordinance, and so we reviewed what they did,” City Administrator Eddie Sheppard said. “What this is doing is mirroring the county ordinance so that we don’t have different ordinances.”
Sheppard noted that the field committee had approved the original ordinance allowing ATVs and UTVs on city streets, so it was important to get the committee’s approval on the amendments.
There was some confusion by committee members about the rule regarding the accompaniment of parents or guardians for children younger than 16. Public Works director Mike Mahloch pointed out that ATVs are usually designed for a single person, and it’s illegal to have more than one person on them.
“Most ATVs are only single-passenger, so you cannot ride two passengers on there,” Mahloch said. “In that instance, if they have a certificate and they’re accompanying on a separate ATV or UTV, a 12- to 16-year-old could operate that ATV as long as they are riding next to another operator that is 18 years of age and has a driver’s license.”
The new rules will be on the council agenda when it meets at 6 p.m. Nov. 12 at Shawano City Hall, 127 S. Sawyer St., Shawano.
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
