Hitting the trail over the long weekend? Helmets are now mandatory for ATV riders in N.L.

The Victoria Day weekend is a big one for people across Newfoundland and Labrador who look to shake off the cold of winter and head into the brush for what might be the first camping trip of the season.

But with the long weekend comes a newlaw: helmets and seatbelts if installed by the manufacturer are now mandatory while driving any ATV, side-by-side or snowmobile, except for when riders are making frequent stops while hunting and trapping, and theirspeed is less than 20 km/h.

Cpl. Jolene Garland, RCMP media relations officer, told CBC Newson Friday that 33 people have died in ATV accidents in areas patrolled by the RCMP inNewfoundland and Labrador since 2020. Of those deaths, 16 were people who were not wearing a helmet. Eleven people who died were impaired. Six people have diedso far in 2022.

In 2020 the RCMP launched an ATV safety campaign that focused on education and enforcement of existing ATV laws to try to prevent fatal accidents and spare families the heartbreak,said Garland.

"We want to paint the big picture here for people that this is happening and this could very easily happen to you," she said.

"It seems that nobody learns from anybody else's mistakes or poor choices, especially when it comes to something so simple as a helmet."

Garland said police will be out this weekend and could set up check points or deploy their own ATVs to patrol off-road areas.

Penalties include a $250 fine for first-time offenders caught not wearing a helmet, she said. The rule applies to passengers as welland in side-by-sides, where seatbelts are now mandatory, children who require a car seat in a regular vehicle will now need one if riding in a side-by-side.

Cost of life greater than cost of helmet

Dean Layman, who started the Avalon ATV riders' group about four years ago, he said, has been pushing the importance of helmets and general safety to the group's members.

Layman saidThursday he agrees with the new safety laws for ATV riders because they could be life-saving.

"I bought my helmet a couple of years ago and it cost $150. So what's $150 compared to your life?" Layman said.

"I go out on the trails a lot with a big group and we always see people with no helmets."

Garland said anything to enhance ATV safety is a step in the right direction, adding a "vast majority" of the 33 deaths since 2020 were preventable.

In a media release the RCMP said it's also keeping a close eye on the roads this weekend, looking for impaired or distracted drivers and speeders, among other traffic violations.

The police force said checkpoints will be set up at numerous locations throughout the province and the traffic services divisions of both the RCMP and the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary will team up topatrol areas along the Avalon Peninsula and Newfoundland's west coast.

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