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HATFIELD-MCCOY TRAILS 'SAFEST PLACE TO RIDE'
(7/30/2009)
Press Release -
Since opening in 2000, the Hatfield-McCoy Trails has been one of the safest places in the country to ride ATVs.
Hatfield-McCoy's safety record comes against a backdrop of a recent spate of ATV accidents, some of the fatal, in West Virginia and nationally.
There were at least two fatal accidents in West Virginia during the third week of July alone (July 20-24). Elsewhere, Nebraska has had four ATV-related fatalities and Wisconsin three just in July, with others in Minnesota, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
"While accidents do occur on the Trails, they are far fewer and less serious than those that occur elsewhere," says Executive Director Jeffrey T. Lusk. "We've sold about 177,000 permits since we opened and should sell another 30,000 this year. Figuring an average of 15 days on the trails for each permit sold, that means we've had well over 2.5 million days of riding and we've only had four fatalities. Although that's four too many, we are proud of our safety record and attribute it to our trail rules and law enforcement."
Some statistics:
- More than 95 percent of crash victims are not wearing a helmet.
- One-third of crashes involve passengers.
- About 40% of crashes occur on paved streets and roads.
- 24% of the deaths involve children 16 years of age and younger, with 12% among men 65 years of age and older.
- 22% of crashes involve alcohol or drugs.
Hatfield-McCoy rules address all these issues, banning passengers except on vehicles (such as utility-type vehicles) which are designed for them, prohibiting alcohol, requiring helmets and setting age requirements for permits.
Additionally, Hatfield-McCoy has a state-trained and approved Ranger force to patrol the trails and enforce the rules.
Also, the legislation creating the trails includes provisions that allow towns to adopt special ordinances to permit ATVs and similar vehicles on city streets.
Without the special ordinances, ATVs are not allowed on roads with a center line. The rules were adopted in 2004 to address West Virginia's nation-high rate of ATV-related fatalities.
"The Hatfield-McCoy Trails are the safest place to ride in the country." states Deputy Executive Director John Fekete.
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