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Crook County to refine OHV ordinance after safety, state-alignment concerns
Summary
Commissioners reviewed a draft off-highway vehicle ordinance that would license commercial OHV operations on county roads; staff will incorporate safety-briefing, lighting and minor-passenger language and return the draft for two public hearings.
Crook County commissioners on Nov. 12 reviewed a draft county ordinance to allow licensed off-highway vehicle (OHV) use on county roads by commercial operators and, later, possibly by individuals.
"We did receive a few comments from Matt Miller," said the staff presenter, who described the draft as a county-run licensing approach that charges a code-enforcement fee to cover staff time rather than a user-access permit. The draft aims to preserve recreational-immunity protections while allowing limited, permitted use for commercial tour operators.
The draft lays out what vehicle types would be permitted, required safety devices and a process for the roads department to impose time-of-day, weather or seasonal restrictions. Staff said the ordinance would require safety briefings for drivers and passengers and could require an emergency lighting or strobe system to mark disabled vehicles.
Commissioners and outside commenters raised safety and equity questions. "There is research that suggests once you allow off-road vehicles on county roads, there is a pretty significant increase in accidents that occur," a staff speaker said, urging caution. Matt Miller, speaking from experience on the Oregon State OHV Safety Committee, recommended aligning county definitions and safety rules with state guidance and said, "as long as you have a valid driver's license, you can operate that vehicle" in many cases; he also recommended a minor-passenger threshold tied to either age or height rather than a strict age cutoff.
Staff responded that the draft already requires a safety briefing and agreed to amend the ordinance text to: (1) explicitly require a pre-use safety briefing for drivers and passengers; (2) broaden language on emergency illumination (strobes/triangles) to accommodate practical equipment; and (3) clarify the minor-passenger threshold to either 8 years old or 4 foot 9 inches, consistent with booster-seat practice and county preference.
Officials also discussed whether to limit initial licensing to commercial entities or allow private individuals to obtain the same license. "My original draft had commercial entities and individuals," a staff presenter said, but given resource and liability concerns the county staff recommended starting narrowly with commercial licenses and studying broader access later.
Next steps: staff will make the technical edits requested by commissioners and commenters and return the ordinance for two public hearings before the board.
