(Des Moines, IA) — A bill that would make it legal for all-terrain vehicles and off-road utility vehicles to travel on state and county highways appears to be on a fast track in the Iowa House. The legislation cleared initial review Tuesday in a House subcommittee. House State Government Committee chairman Bobby Kaufmann of Wilton says ATVs are allowed on the roads in 22 states, plus two-thirds of Iowa counties have local ordinances allowing ATVs on local streets and roads. Kaufman said, “I want to make it clear that in every county that this has happened, the ensuing accidents and deaths and Armagedons that were predicted did not happen.” Mark Maxwell of the Iowa Motorcycle Dealers Association says the group is “adamantly opposed” to the bill. Maxwell told lawmakers, “these vehicles are not manufactured to be run on hard surface roads. They’re not. They don’t have highway tires on them. They don’t have antilock brakes.”
