Task Force Releases Interim Report

Measures to improve public safety and provide more effective policing for recreational use of off-highway vehicles are recommended in an interim report released today, Feb. 12, by the Voluntary Planning Off-highway Vehicle Task Force.

The report also addresses issues such as land use, environmental concerns and liability. It is designed to help the provincial government develop a policy that will bring order and safety to the use of off-highway vehicles in the province.

"These recommendations focus on public safety, the need for appropriately constructed trails and improved enforcement," said David Bellefontaine, chair of the task force. "This report identifies the need to develop stronger policies on these issues."

Some specific recommendations of the report are:

• strict enforcement of mandatory registration and vehicle identification for all off-highway vehicles in Nova Scotia;
• development of a network of designated trails and park areas;
• establishment of an Integrated Enforcement Task Force dedicated to enforcement of off-highway vehicles laws and regulations;
• mandatory licencing and training for off-highway vehicle operators;
• a prohibition on off-highway vehicle use in wilderness protected areas.

The report recommends establishing an off-highway vehicle infrastructure trust fund that would be used in trail system development and maintenance, training, self-policing and environmental education.

It also recommends that fully licenced operators of off-highway vehicles be 16 years of age or older. It recommends that no one under the age of 14 operate an off-highway vehicle and that youths 14 and 15 years old be required to successfully complete a training course and be supervised at all times by a parent or guardian.

Last April the provincial government asked Voluntary Planning to conduct research and consult with the public on off-highway vehicle use in Nova Scotia.

At public meetings held across the province last fall, the task force heard a wide range of views. Some people called for more effective enforcement, others for development of recreational places for off-highway vehicles to operate or other measures to make this a safer activity.

The task force also met with major off-highway vehicle associations, environmental organizations, trail users, health and safety interests, enforcement agencies, conservationists and representatives of the insurance industry.

The report is available online at www.gov.ns.ca/vp or at Access Nova Scotia centres across the province.

The public will have until March 15 to provide feedback on the interim report. Comments can be submitted by e-mail to [email protected], by fax at 902-424-0580 or by mail to Voluntary Planning, Suite 600, 1690 Hollis St., Halifax, N.S., B3J 3J9.

A final report will be submitted to government when completed.

Voluntary Planning -- Nova Scotia's Citizens' Policy Forum -- operates at arm's length from the provincial government. Members participate on task forces, project teams and sector committees.

For more information on the interim report, contact Voluntary Planning at 902-424-5682 or toll-free at 1-866-858-5850.