WELLINGTON COUNTY - Off-road vehicles can now be driven on all county roads without time and location restrictions.
At Thursday’s in-person meeting, county council passed a bylaw following the county roads committee’s recommendation of permitting and regulating the use of off-road vehicles (ORV) on all county roads without time and location restrictions.
“The roads committee discussion centred around how practical and easy it was for the OPP to enforce the bylaw. The committee recommended allowing ORVs on county roads without any further restrictions, just to make it as simple and stable throughout the entire county as possible,” said county councillor Andy Lennox during the meeting.
“There are a few differences as Erin, Minto and Guelph/Eramosa have some restrictions in their municipalities, but the rest of the municipalities do not have any, so we want to make it as stable and practical as possible.”
The Townships of Centre Wellington, Wellington North, Mapleton and Puslinch had no restrictions for ORV use while the Township of Guelph/Eramosa, and the towns of Minto and Erin had some restrictions with respect to time of day and location for ORV use in their jurisdictions.
Erin permits ORVs in the town on farmlands and countryside roads, but not within urban areas, while Minto prohibits use of off road vehicles in parks, walking trails, between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., and between December and March.
Guelph/Eramosa allows the use of off-road vehicles on highways under the jurisdiction of the township, but not off-road motorcycles or extreme terrain vehicles.
Councillors David Anderson and Campbell Cork were the only ones opposed with Anderson noting he had "a bit of a safety concern" about major routes such as Wellington Road 109 as it is a very dangerous road.
"I have a real concern on opening up its use on all county roads. I know some regions like Bruce County have specific regulations because of the same situation on safety. I understand the situation and the simplicity of it.”
Anderson wondered if there was a safety report done on use of ORVs on all county roads. County engineer, Don Kudo, noted he recommended doing a further study on the use of certain ORVs, locations and safety back in September 2021, but county roads committee did not direct him to further proceed with the study.
“I did propose to do the study, but it was not the direction the committee wanted to go through, so there was no study done. In consultation with the OPP, it was decided to be consistent for enforcement purposes and allow the use of ORVs on county roads,” said Kudo on the phone.
In Kudo’s report, OPP noted the creation of clear, consistent and simple regulations aid in the successful enforcement of legislation.
“By interjecting more complex rules and regulations, such as ORV’s being allowed on certain county roads and time of use or seasonal restrictions, there is a concern of higher non-compliance rates by members of the public due to the more confusing and complex nature of the regulations,” the report stated.
In regards to speed limitations and regulations, Kudo explained ORV drivers must follow the rules and regulations in accordance with the Ontario Highway Act.
ORV operators must have the proper driver’s license, insurance, permit, and gear.
ORVs also cannot be driven at a rate of speed greater than 20 kilometres per hour, if the speed limit established under the Act for that part of the highway is not greater than 50 kilometres per hour; or 50 kilometres per hour, if the speed limit established under the Act for that part of the highway is greater than 50 kilometres per hour.
