Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police
A 32-year-old man was ticketed by Clarenville RCMP for not wearing a helmet while operating a side-by-side all-terrain vehicle (ATV) on May 10, 2025.
Shortly before 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, police stopped the ATV which was traveling on the shoulder of the Trans-Canada Highway near Clarenville. In addition to not wearing a helmet, the driver was unable to provide proof of insurance. He was ticketed for the violations.
With the expected increased use of off-road vehicles heading into the Victoria Day Weekend and continuing over the summer, RCMP NL reminds operators of the province’s Off-Road Vehicles Act. Off-road vehicles include dirt bikes, quads, side-by-sides and snowmobiles.
All occupants of off-road vehicles are required to wear helmets, as well as seat belts where available. Children who are required to use a child seat restraint system, such as a booster seat, under the Highway Traffic Act are required to follow that same legislation as a passenger of an off-road vehicle.
It is illegal to operate an ATV on a roadway, except to cross from one side to the other, and the operator must have registration, insurance, a driver’s licence and not less than one hundred and fifty metres of visibility to do so. To access a trail, an ATV can be operated on the shoulder of a roadway for a maximum distance of 1 kilometre and at a maximum speed of 20 kilometres an hour, all while yielding to motor vehicle traffic.
More information about the Off-Road Vehicles Act and Highway Traffic Act can be found here:
https://www.assembly.nl.ca/Legislation/sr/statutes/o05-1.htm