Heading out for a ride? Get there, and park, safely!
With record ATV and SxS sales in 2020 and with 2021 sales starting off hot, there will be more traffic on resource roads and on the trails this year. Do your part to keep everyone safe!
Robert Hergott, former ATVBC Director, recently shared some great information with readers of ATVBC’s new Facebook group that needs to be shared with as many folks as possible. Lots of great information and tips on radios and their usage resulted from Robert’s post.
In his well-written post, Robert says, “Often, we buy what some in the non-riding community call costly machines, towed by expensive vehicles, in trailers that, you guessed it, are costly. We then spend more of our hard-earned money on lift kits, snorkels, coolers, rear boxes, sound systems, camping equipment, (more significant) tires, racks, and tools (NEVER forget the tools!).
We then travel to trailheads, some local, some not, to spend money in communities that we don’t live in, to see sights often others have posted. We intermingle (safely these days) with like-minded people from all over Canada, the US of Eh (they hate that spelling, lol) and even other parts of the world.
These people may be fellow riders, horse people, hikers, bikers, meanderers, four-wheelers, two-wheelers, young, old, or various ages in-between.
Much to my surprise, often (VERY often, unfortunately) overlooked is the simple what-we-will-call the standard Road Radio that allows users to communicate with others, sometimes a very long distance away from us.
These radios allow us to communicate with industrial users of the road, which can cut down on, let’s call it, scary moments, summon assistance, find lost riders from our group (WHY they are lost is a whole other post, lol). They range in price from several hundreds of dollars (the cost of a single good tire) to more than a thousand. And they do require a yearly license.
BUT THEY ARE SO WORTH IT!
Most of BC’s Natural Resource Roadways (Forest Service Roads) now use either one or a combination of the 35 RR channels (RR1 thru RR35) for industrial users to communicate a position on the roadway to improve road safety. They work in areas cell phones don’t and can often reach 30 kilometers or more away from your point, depending on the hills near you.
Next time you think about upgrading your machine, take a serious look at either a Hand-Held or a Mounted Road Radio. One day, your life or that of someone you know (or maybe don’t know) may depend on this simple device.”
Thanks for the info Robert!
Parking safely at the trailhead is important too!
Have I mentioned the safety conscious and information sharing Vernon ATV Club much lately? Love these guys! Clint Ingham, ATVBC Director and Vernon ATV Club president recently wrote a great article with information that will keep riders safe!
He writes: “All ATVers need to remember that we’re judged by the tracks we leave behind and that starts with how and where we park. If a local resident, rancher or hiker drives by and sees piles of garbage, burnout marks on the road or an abandoned campfire it sure doesn’t look good for us.
Safety
Almost every staging area is near or on a Forest Service Road (FSR) so in addition to other recreational users whether they be fellow ATVers, fisherman, hunters, firewooders, a bunch of young folks heading out with a pickup load of pallets to party or commercial and industrial traffic, there can be a lot of vehicles passing the staging area.” He continues with fantastic guidance about parking, noise and dust. Read it here – thanks Clint!
BC Forest Safety
The BC Forest Safety has created two fantastic brochures, “Resource Road User Safety Guide” and “Using ORVs on Resource Roads” and has provided permission for ATVBC and its clubs and members to share them.
Shout-out of thanks to Murray Haight, Elkford ATV Club President for making us aware of BC Forest Safety Council brochures, the BC Forest Safety Council for permission to host and share the brochures, Robert Hergott, ATVBC member for his radio write-up, and Clint Ingham, ATVBC director and Vernon ATV Club President for sharing information on trailhead safety.
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