New booklet to educate off-highway drivers about rules of the road

The P.E.I government plans to step up the enforcement of rules governing snowmobiles and ATVs following the release of a new booklet. 

It's a response to several cases of damage caused by snowmobiles and ATVs to crops across Prince Edward Island said Federation of Agriculture executive director Robert Godfrey. The organization led the project.  

"There was a need to ensure the information was out there for riders –– as well as landowners ––  so they know the law especially as it relates to operating off-highway vehicles around the farming community," said Godfrey. 

• Snowmobiles damage blueberry field in eastern P.E.I.

'So they know the law'

Godfrey told CBC radio's Angela Walker on Mainstreet "off-highway vehicles can cause a number of food safety issues, like soil-borne diseases when people drive unknowingly through fields of blueberries, potatoes and grain."

The federation represents 600 producers across the Island. 

The booklet is a joint effort of the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture, the provincial departments of Agriculture and Fisheries, Communities Land and Environment, and Justice and Public Safety along with the P.E.I. ATV Federation and the P.E.I. Snowmobile Federation.

Beneficial to Island farmers

Now that the booklet has been released, government is stepping up enforcement to prevent damage to agricultural land. Godfrey said, "Basically the second you drive off your own property and don't have the permission of landowners, you're trespassing."

"The farming community is an integral part of our rural communities and our Island economy," said Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Alan MacIsaac in a written release. "Ensuring farms are protected from crop damage — and off-highway vehicle operators have proper knowledge of the laws — is an effort this government has been happy to collaborate on." 
 
The free booklet is available at all Access PEI locations and at the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture in Charlottetown. The snowmobile and ATV federations will also provide a copy to all trail pass holders this winter.  

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