Press Release from Galveston County Sheriff’s Office
Date: 07/13/2012
Subject: Deputies Gear Up For ATV/ROV Enforcement
Last month, a State Attorney General’s opinion provided some guidance for both operators and government officials about the use of all-terrain and recreational off-road vehicles (ATV/ROV’s) on Bolivar Peninsula beaches.
The opinion, reviewed by local officials, indicated such vehicles could be operated on public beaches – with certain limitations.
Armed with this new interpretation of law, Galveston County Sheriff Freddie Poor instructed his deputies to provide warnings to ATV/ROV operators found violating the law. That “grace period” expires July 20th, and deputies are gearing up for strict enforcement of statutes.
A controversial subject for some years, the operation of ATV/ROV’s on public beaches is generally allowed for persons older than 14 or, if under age 14, under the direct supervision of a parent, guardian, or other adult authorized by the parent or guardian. Drivers are allowed to cross a public roadway at a 90 degree angle, with headlamps and tail lamps illuminated (day or night), yielding to all oncoming traffic.
ATV/ROV’s are not permitted to be operated on any public roadway, which includes road shoulders and ditches, except in very limited circumstances connected with agricultural and utility service activities.
No vehicle, including ATV/ROV’s may be driven on any sand dune along the beach.
Other laws regulating the operation of motor vehicles – including speeding, reckless driving, driving while intoxicated, and others, apply to the operation of ATV/ROV’s in all circumstances, even on public beaches.
“We want to do our best to help the public understand laws that apply to operating these kinds of vehicles,” said Sheriff Poor. “Our goal is to make sure the laws are followed and operators drive in a safe manner.”
Starting July 20th, operators found in violation of these and other applicable laws may find themselves facing time in court answering to a traffic ticket.
Contact: Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo
Phone: (409) 766-2369 / (409) 789-7497
e-mail: [email protected]
What are ATV’s and ROV’s?
An ATV – sometimes called “three-wheeler” or “four-wheeler” – is a motor vehicle, equipped with a saddle seat, designed to propel itself with three or four wheels on the ground and manufactured for off-highway use. An ROV – sometimes referred to as a “mule” – is the same as an ATV except that it is equipped with a non-saddle (bench or bucket) seats.
Aren’t ROV’s the same as a golf cart?
No. There are separate laws that regulate the operation of golf carts on beaches and roadways.
Can I drive my ATV or ROV on the beach?
Yes. ATV’s and ROV’s may be operated on any public beach on Bolivar Peninsula except for any area closed to vehicular traffic or on any sand dune.
There are some laws that say I can operate an ATV on a road. Why can’t I drive to the beach?
ATV’s and ROV’s may be driven on a roadway only by police officers or during certain agricultural and utility service activities
I have a house close to the beach. Am I allowed to ride my ATV or ROV to the beach?
NO. State law prohibits driving any ATV or ROV on any public roadway, which includes all roadways anywhere on Bolivar Peninsula. Also, it’s illegal to cross a sand dune to access the beach.
If I can’t drive my ATV or ROV to the beach, how do I get it there?
The only way is to bring the ATV or ROV to the beach using a road-legal motor vehicle (in the bed of a pickup truck, as an example) or using a road-legal trailer. “Road-legal” means that the vehicle and/or trailer is in full compliance with statutes regulating operation of a motor vehicle on a public roadway (license, insurance, lighting, etc.).
Do I have to have a driver’s license to operate an ATV or ROV on the beach?
A driver’s license is not required.
How fast can I drive my ATV or ROV on the beach?
The speed limit for all vehicles on Bolivar Peninsula beaches is 15 MPH.
My child is 12 years old. Can he drive an ATV or ROV on the beach?
Children under 14 may drive an ATV or ROV in any area where it is legal to operate only under the direct supervision of a parent or guardian, or under the direct supervision of an adult authorized by the child’s parent or guardian.
May I ride my ATV or ROV on private property?
Yes, providing it is your property or you’ve been given permission from the property owner.
Are there other laws that apply to operation of an ATV or ROV on the beach?
Laws such driving while intoxicated or reckless driving, among others, apply to ATV’s and ROV’s. The specific application of law varies on the facts of each situation. ATV and ROV operators following safe and courteous driving habits – much like those that should be followed driving any vehicle on a public roadway – should be able to enjoy a ride along the beach without endangering themselves or others.
What if I have questions about laws dealing with driving my ATV or ROV?
Ask any Galveston County Sheriff’s deputy, and they can help you through the maze of laws dealing with an ATV or ROV. Also, you may choose to attend an all-terrain vehicle safety education course where you can learn more about safely driving your ATV or ROV.
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I totally understand why children arent allowed on atvs on the beach. I respect that law. Chris does crystal beach allow a fourwheeler and when the law says the vehicle must be street legal does that mean the atv must be street legal? I want to bring my atv in my truck to the beach w my son for the day and just ride along side the beach. Can i do this legally??
Has anyone of these brain dead clueless state or local official thought about the economic implication of no ROV/UTV allowed from cabin to beach and back? Some of us choose to rent cabins instead of owning them. I will find other options for my vacation dollars if I can’t use my side by side to go from the cabin to the beach and back. No summer vacation at Crystal Beach means no more expenditures at Cobb’s cabin rental, the Big store, Stingaree Resturant, JB’s seafood, Nancy’s Bait shop, and so on. Typical weekly expenditures can easily exceed $1500 dollars/week. No cabin rental means no state resort tax or sales tax collection. Some one might want to clue those in Austin in on that concept. Time to research the option elsewhere like Holly Beach La. or Gulf Port Miss.
How can any reasonable prudent person promote that a golf cart is safer than a ROV when operated in a responsible manner. A golf cart typically has mechanical brakes on two wheels only while the ROV has hydraulic operated brakes on all four wheels. A ROV has a Roll Over Protective Structure (ROPS) to protect the occupants if a rollover should occur while the golf cart has a shade top that will not provide virtually no protection in a rollover. The ROV has three point seat belts (lap and shoulder belts) while the golf cart has lap belt if any at all. Stating that a golf cart is safer than a ROV is like saying a Model T is safer than a 2012 model automobile. Some politician need a serious dose of reality and education. Punish those who choose to operate equipment irresponsibly not preclude the use by good honest contributing members of society.
One of the biggest problems is enforcement. Last Sunday Our neighbor loaded up her golf cart with fishing gear and two young boys (the adult was driving) and headed to the beach for fishing. Pulling onto the beach from O’Neil rd, she was stopped by a GSCO deputy (of course he did not get out of his car, they never do!). The deputy’ was driving with an ununiformed person. The deputy told my neighbor that it was illegal to drive the golf cart to the beach from her house and sent her home. One can surmise several reasons for this misapplication of the law:
1 He ignorantly could not distinguish between a golf cart and an ATV
2 he saw a pretty blond with flowing hair and no adult male on board and decided to bully her.
3.he was showing off for his ride along.
4 he was an arrogant jerk
Sheriff Poor wants to keep the public safe and informed on the beach.
He should include more comprehensive training for his staff, along with a big dose of customer relations training. There are good deputies and bad patrolling our beach. If you’ve ever been stopped by one of the bad ones who lack any social skills, you know what I’m talking about. Perhaps a good start would be to perform their traffic stop like real officers who get out of their car and come to you. Not alk to you from their car window; Nor crook their finger for you to come to them, as is usually the case. Perhaps if they had to exit their vehicle to perform their duty there would be many less nuisance stops. it would certainly be more courteous
Makes sense. Waste more money by ticketing the “criminals” who are driving their ATV from their cabin to the beach. It makes much more sense for them to hook a trailer up to their 1 ton pickup and put the ATV on there. Then, they can drive a couple of hundred yards to the beach and now they will have their 1 ton pickup, a trailer, an ATV and all their beach chairs,etc on the beach. Wow! Good thing the beach isn’t already crowded (insert sarcasm here). I have to wonder, do ANY public officials have ANY functioning brain cells? And, why in the world would the Sheriff’s office bother enforcing this nonsense?
It’s the state law, and for goor reason; don’t blame the local law enforcement agencies for enforcing the law.
And the good reason for not allowing ROV (mules) is????
ATV,ROV and Mules are not suitable for driving on a busy beach such as Bolivar or on neighborhood streets to from the beach. They are just way too noisy, fast, and do not require a drivers license to operate. They do, by design, naturally encourage boisterous behavior, which disturbs wildlife, flora, pets, and pedestrians on the beach. Automobiles are not much better in this area. ATV’s/ROV’s/Mules belong in the woods (they were designed for this, correct?), not in areas with pedestrians intermingled. Sorry.
Golf carts are not perfect either, but they are at least slow, quiet(electric ones anyway), and lightweight so that they make minimal impact on environment or quality of life for wildlife or pedestrians.
We r gonna travel to four hours to crystal beach. Does this new rule apply to crystal beach only or Galveston island as well. We r bringing our side by side and would like to know the requirements needed to operate it on the beach.
Too bad the sheriff and his staff won’t spend the same amount of time trying to solve the murder of Bridgette Gearen and a better investigation of the “death” of Sam Brown as they do on this “ROV/Golf Cart” issue!!
Golf Carts by law are not allowed at night on any Texas road or beach. There are now laws governing ATV/ROV operation on the beach after dark. ATV/ROV are not Golf Carts so they can be operated at night…..
The problem was not the ATV, but the young operator behind the wheel. You would not let children operate a Car or truck on the road or highway eather. We all have to work together on this project. If your kids can’t drive the right way keep them off the ATV.I am sorry that this happened to you. My wife and I just enjoy riding our ATV at the beach to relax. Your right to be up set because you had to file for uninsured motorist. I would be also. Let’s all work together and enjoy the right to ride on the beach. Remember the other people around you want to enjoy the beach as well.
Well said. The mentality/logic of some people is very frustrating to me. I’ve seen umbrellas blowing out of the ground before. I think they should be banned because they could poke someone’s eye out. I’ve seen cars doing donuts and getting in wrecks on the beach. They should be banned. A kid riding an electric scooter in Beaumont got hit and injured so Beaumont banned electric scooters. But, bicycles aren’t banned. Has a child ever been injured or killed while riding a bike? I could go on and on. Accidents happen. Life isn’t perfect. Whatever happened to common sense?
Brian you say accidents happen. Well with 30 years in law enforcement, I have to say wrecks and crashes are not accidents. They happen because someone did something wrong. Letting 12 yoa kids ride ATVs on the beach is the start of something wrong. There is not a single person that purchased an ATV or ROV that did not know that it was illegal to operate them on a public roadway. That is state law and should be enforced just the same as running red lights, speeding, and all other traffic violations, whether it be citatations or warnings. Just my opinion.
Too late for me. On July 3rd I was rear ended by an ATV driven by a 12 year old. The only person with him was a 7 year old girl. The accident caused $1200. in damages but could be more depending on what they find when they take it apart. The ATV did not belong to the child’s parents but was borrowed from someone else. The Galveston County Sheriff did not issue a citation of any kind to the child or his parents. Now we have to file on our uninsured motorist and pay a deductible. I don’t understand why they ever let those things back on the beach.
1) Ok, so if a 12 year old was driving a car instead that would be ok with you? Or would you ban all cars? Have you ever heard the saying “throw out the baby with the bath water”?
2) A 12 year old isn’t supposed to legally drive one. A citation should have been issued.
3) Maybe if you were in one instead of your car it wouldn’t have caused any damage?
The responses to your comment are ridiculous; parents do not comprehend the laws or the dangers when it comes to ATVs vs.registered vehicles. They consider ATVs and ROVs as play toys, and they are not.
I would insist that the Sheriff’s Department issue the owner of the ATV, which can be traced by serial number, and issue the owner a citation, so that you can file against his liability insurance, rather than your uninsured motorists. I would also insist that the Sheriff’s Department file “Endangerment to a Child” charges against the parents, since it is unlawful for a person of that age to operate an ATV on public lands.