Breaking news from Brimstone 7-7-09

All you guys that are heading over to Brimstone, here is a heads up about riding on county roads

http://m.wbir.com/news.jsp?key=97803&rc=ne


i would say that the locals will probably give you a pass if your not a jerzrzr , but heads up

I guess that means you can't ride the south side of the park????

I am a member of Brimstones face book and they were doing a vote on it. That will suck for the comunity and people like us that ride there. It will just take a hand full to mess it up for everyone.

There might be a loophole you could use to continue if you have someone with knowledge of the law, in rural areas in many states there are allowances made for non tagged vehicles to travel on the roads, like tractors and other vehicles. I know in ga., WV and N.C you can do this if you run a orange diamond slow vehicle warning sign on the rear of the vehicle.

GunRunner wrote:

There might be a loophole you could use to continue if you have someone with knowledge of the law, in rural areas in many states there are allowances made for non tagged vehicles to travel on the roads, like tractors and other vehicles. I know in ga., WV and N.C you can do this if you run a orange diamond slow vehicle warning sign on the rear of the vehicle.

Think they'd let a RZR get by with running a Slow Moving Vehicle (SMV) sign, especially if you weren't from the local area?

Well i did some checking and it seems Tennessee has already listed in LAW a exception for Scott county and access to some local roads, see here and read down near bottom, it lists two areas where atv and other off road type vehicles can use local roads and lists a local scott county road. I found this on the Tenneesee state website under the Laws section. It does say you must run slow with headlights and tail lights on. this is on the State of Tenneesee web site. Search here;
http://www.michie.com/tennessee/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=main-h.htm&cp=tncode

		55-8-185. Use of off-highway motor vehicles on highways. —

		(a) Off-highway motor vehicles defined in § 55-3-101(c)(2) may be operated or driven upon a highway but only as follows:

		(1) On a two-lane highway, only to cross the highway at an angle of approximately ninety degrees (90°) to the direction of the roadway and at a place where a quick and safe crossing may be made;

		(2) With respect to the crossing of a highway having more than two (2) lanes, or a highway having limited access, off-highway motor vehicles may cross these highways, but only at a place designated by the department of transportation or local government authorities with respect to highways under their respective jurisdictions as a place where such motor vehicles, or specified types of such motor vehicles, may cross the highways, and these vehicles shall cross these highways only at those designated places and only in a quick and safe manner; and

		(3) The department and local government authorities with respect to highways under their respective jurisdictions may designate, by the erection of appropriate signs of a type approved by the department, places where these motor vehicles, or specified types of these motor vehicles, may cross any highway having more than two (2) lanes or having limited access.

		(b) Off-highway motor-driven cycles defined in § 55-3-101(c)(2) may be moved, by nonmechanical means only, adjacent to a roadway, in a manner so as to not interfere with traffic upon the highway, only for the purpose of gaining access to, or returning from, areas designed for the operation of off-highway vehicles, when no other route is available. The department or local government authority may designate access routes leading to off-highway parks as suitable for the operation of off-highway vehicles, if such access routes are available to the general public only for pedestrian and off-highway motor vehicle travel.

		(c) (1) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, three- or four-wheel all-terrain vehicles may be operated on:

		(A) State Route 116 between Railroad Street and Beech Grove Lane within the jurisdiction of Lake City in Anderson County; and

		(B) Oneida & Western (O&W) Railroad Road from its intersection with Verdun Road southwestward to its terminus, within the jurisdiction of Scott County.

		(2) Drivers operating vehicles pursuant to subdivision (c)(1) shall obey the rules of the road and operate with due care. While on the authorized portion of the highways designated in subdivision (c)(1), the vehicles shall display tail lamps and headlights. Headlights on the vehicles shall, under normal atmospheric conditions and on a level road, produce a driving light sufficient to render clearly discernible a person two hundred feet (200¢) ahead.

		(d) A violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine only of not more than fifty dollars ($50.00).

[Acts 1982, ch. 749, § 2; 2005, ch. 60, § 1; 2007, ch. 448, § 1.]

WELL HERE IN OUR NECK OF THE WOODS, THE RHINOS AND PROWLERS
ARE CONSIDERED FARM VEHICLES... AND CAN RIDE SOME ROADS(NOT THE STATE ROADS)
BUT THE REGULAR ATV's AND 4 WHEELERS CANNOT RIDE THE ROADS AND HIGHWAYS.
I KNOW THIS GUY THAT TAKES HIS FAMILY OUT TO RIDE IN ONE OF OUR LOCAL FORREST
ON THE FORREST ROADS, THE SXS CAN RIDE,.. BUT THE ONES RIDING THE 4 WHEELERs
GOT TICKETS.... I GUESS IT DEPENDS ON YOUR LOCAL LAWS AND/OR STATE LAWS.......
AND....... THE OFFICER THAT CATCHES YA.(grin) YA KNOW UP IN NICKS TOWN, YOU COULD
RIDE ON THE LOCAL STREETS BUT NOT ON THE STATE HIGHWAYS.... SO I CAN
UNDERSTAND NOT RIDING THE MAIN HIGHWAYS..... TOO MUCH TRAFFIC..... TOO DANGEROUS.

Good job investigating,... Gunny!

Big-R wrote:

I guess that means you can't ride the south side of the park????

Guys just a minor bump in the road, You can ride the south side just fine, crossing of roads to access trails is fine. this will all be resolved soon, don't get excited.

Please read the latest from the county commission meeting helf Monday night::

Please note that all matters pertaining to the ordaiance is only OPINION, until or unless someone hires a lawyer and challeges this, a judge and court will have to decide on the validity of the ordanaince's and that hasn't been done yet.


County commission meeting results:
HUNTSVILLE — In something of a surprise move, County Commission’s Community Development Committee voted 5-1 Monday night to accept the Town of Huntsville’s so-called “ATV ordinance.”

The vote came despite County Attorney John Beaty’s opinion that local law cannot supersede state law, which does not permit ATVs on public streets. Beaty’s opinion, which came in broad terms of ATVs in general, echoed an opinion by the University of Tennessee’s County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS) that the ordinance is unlawful.

Huntsville’s ordinance, adopted by the town’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen in 2007, is worded to permit ATVs on city streets, with a number of regulations, including a 15-mph speed limit and rules governing the age of riders and reckless driving.

The committee’s move came in response to a recent announcement by Scott County Sheriff Anthony Lay that his department would begin enforcing the state’s ATV laws on public roads, a decision that has fueled continued debate in the community over the past month.

That debate came to a head at Monday’s work session of the county’s legislative body, where representatives of each side of the debate — but with attendance heavily weighted towards those favorable to ATVs — gathered before the commission.

Christy Harness, who informed the board that she was appearing as a concerned citizen, displayed a stack of petitions collected by Brimstone Recreation that included more than 2,000 signatures from around the community asking the Tennessee General Assembly to amend state law to allow certain roads in Scott County to be open for ATV traffic.

Harness also presented a petition containing the signatures of 53 local business owners stating that their business had benefited as a result of Brimstone Recreation and other adventure tourism.

Harness said that 53 of the 55 business owners she approached had agreed to sign the petition.

“Brimstone Recreation has not taken anything away from this county; it’s only given back to this county,” local talk show host RL Gibson told the committee. “All of you can ask the local business people of this area what Brimstone has brought to the area.

“Why we haven’t grown is because we have people trying to stop Scott County from being on the map,” he added.

Denika Terry, Brimstone Recreation’s office manager, told commissioners that Brimstone was quickly growing.

“When we first started in 2006, at our first big event (White Knuckle 2006), we had 500 people, and we were excited,” she said. “In 2009, we had 5,000 people. It’s bringing a lot into our community. Thirty thousand people have come into Brimstone in three years.

“We’re making a big impact,” Terry added. “We want you to help keep the roads here ATV-friendly.”

Sheriff Anthony Lay spoke to the audience and the commission, saying the ATV debate was something he did not want to be in the middle of.

“We have media saying that the sheriff did this,” he said. “That’s unfair. This isn’t my doing. This is the state’s doing.

“I’m not against ATV riders,” Lay added.

Following the discussion, the committee voted 6-0 to approve a motion by Ernest Phillips to petition the state legislature to amend the state law, giving Scott County the authority to allow ATVs on public roads.

Commissioner Clyde Zachary said that he favored permitting ATVs on all roads if the vehicles are going to be allowed on a few roads, to prevent discriminating against a particular street.

Following the committee’s vote, commissioner Jeff Watson stated that he would like to adopt the same ordinance Huntsville adopted earlier.

“I know the county attorney has said we can’t do it, but until somebody challenges it, I’d like for us to adopt it,” he said.

Commssioner Paul Strunk cast the lone dissenting vote, stating that commissioners “took an oath when we sat down here that we would abide by the laws of the State of Tennessee whether we agree with them or not.”

tn does have a new law that states if you have rear view mirror turn signals reflectors and windshield you have to sign an affadata to show you meet the requirments for low speed and they ok to drive on roads with a speed limit of no more than 45 mph

turtle wrote:

tn does have a new law that states if you have rear view mirror turn signals reflectors and windshield you have to sign an affadata to show you meet the requirments for low speed and they ok to drive on roads with a speed limit of no more than 45 mph

I need that down here then I can drive the rhino to work and all around town

GunRunner wrote:

There might be a loophole you could use to continue if you have someone with knowledge of the law, in rural areas in many states there are allowances made for non tagged vehicles to travel on the roads, like tractors and other vehicles. I know in ga., WV and N.C you can do this if you run a orange diamond slow vehicle warning sign on the rear of the vehicle.

In WV you can run any hard road that does not have a painted center line. Even the ones that do have a painted center line you can run the shoulders for up to 25 miles to get from trailhead to trailhead. The only exception being Kanawha Co. who made there own rules, which so far is supercedeing the State law.