Senate committee clears bill allowing licensed drivers to operate ATVs on unpaved public roads

State Senator Allen Clark presented Senate Bill 261 to the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee; the committee approved the bill after public testimony and discussion of safety, insurance and definitions.

Senator Allen Clark said the bill is intended to let residents who live on unpaved roads legally operate ATVs or UTVs to travel to nearby destinations. "We have those roads that have a lot of traffic have been paved ... the vast majority, we just don't, want to be have a ticket written over something that is is pretty common sense," Clark said. He said the bill limits operation on "unpaved" roads and that he will offer an amendment in the House to clarify the language so chip-seal or otherwise paved surfaces are excluded.

The bill adds language allowing operation on public streets or highways that are not paved with asphalt, concrete, brick or stone. It requires the operator to be a resident with a valid commercial or noncommercial driver's license in their immediate possession, or a nonresident with equivalent out-of-state documentation as described in existing statute.

Clark and others said the bill is meant to recognize current rural practice: riding short distances on unpaved roads between destinations such as a neighbor's house, a trailhead or a work site. "You're headed to a trail, you're headed to a neighbor's house ... you're going somewhere, just like anybody else on a gravel road," Clark said.

Several witnesses and committee members urged changes or clarification. Troy Tucker, Clark County judge and a retired law enforcement officer, told the committee that many ATV crashes he handled involved younger riders and that "gravel roads are probably the most dangerous form of roadway surface that you could put a 16 year old on an ATV." Tucker recommended clearer definition of "aggregate" and suggested driver-testing guidance for ATVs.

Gary Sipes, director of the Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police, said ATVs "are not made to ride on the roads" and expressed the association's interest in the bill because it concerns public roads. Committee members repeatedly asked about insurance and whether the bill would inadvertently allow dealers or private parties to reclassify dwellings as "offices" to avoid hauling rules; sponsor Clark said he was open to amendments including an insurance requirement and a clarified definition to exclude chip-seal roads.

During discussion, several committee members said they supported the central license requirement and the intent to codify common rural practice while reserving enforcement for unsafe driving. Senator Clark said he would accept later clarifications in the House, including language to ensure chip-seal and similar surfaces are excluded. The committee approved the bill by voice vote.

Votes at a glance: committee approved SB 261 by voice vote; sponsor signaled willingness to consider amendments on insurance, definition of "aggregate"/chip-seal and the minimum age.

The bill will move forward for further consideration in the legislative process.