Missouri State Highway Patrol stresses safety when riding ATVs, UTVs, and other off-road vehicles

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - Riding a UTV or ATV over the summer can be a ton of fun, if driven responsibly.

We’ve told you about multiple serious crashes involving these off-road vehicles in the past. Just a little over a week ago, a teenager was seriously injured in a UTV crash near Highlandville, Mo.

“Most of our crashes that we encounter throughout the year involving young people are on private property, and generally on uneven terrain or just misusing the vehicle because they just don’t know (the rules),” said Sergeant Mike McClure with the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Sergeant McClure says if you operate any kind of off-road vehicle on a highway, you must obey the same laws as any other driver.

He says that highway patrol responds to far too many crashes involving inexperienced riders flipping over UTVs and ATVs. Some of these crashes are fatal or very serious. McClure said riding an ATV, or four-wheeler, requires registration.

He also says you must be a licensed driver to operate UTVs on a highway. UTVs are typically used for agricultural purposes.

Gavin Bellah at Pitbull Powersports said it’s important to be cautious with where you ride these vehicles.

“Any sort of trails meant for them (ATVs, UTVs), like big parks. You just need to look it up and see if they’re available for any side-by-side use,” Bellah said. “If you want to make any of these street legal, you can put mirrors on them, you can put a horn, you can put turn signals. You can also put an orange triangle on the back of it, and it can be street legal.”

Patrol also has a reference guide to look over before you operate an off-road vehicle. It details Missouri laws on each type of vehicle.

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