The organization is hoping to make coverage mandatory in all of the Maritime provinces.
The ATV Federation is made a call to have required off road vehicle insurance for all drivers of these machines, throughout each of the Maritime provinces in Canada, by the end of the year.
At the moment, only Prince Edward Island has failed to implement this type of regulation for ATV drivers.
This would require the drivers of all terrain vehicles in every Maritime province – including P.E.I. – to have to begin shopping for coverage, provided that the pitch from the Federation has been adopted. The ATV Federation says that it has been far too long that this off road vehicle insurance requirement has not been in place in some areas, and that it’s about time that action is taken in the right direction.
According to the Federation’s numbers, only about a third of ATV drivers have all terrain vehicle insurance.
The ATV Federation president, Greg Myers, said that only approximately 2,000 out of an estimated 6,000 all terrain vehicle drivers are registered, and even fewer of them have off road vehicle insurance coverage of some form. He pointed out that uninsured drivers have a risk of being sued if they are ever involved in an accident while driver their machines.
Myers explained that “In the province of New Brunswick and the province of Nova Scotia, it’s a mandatory insurance to carry on an ATV, so why do we not have it on P.E.I.?” He also added that “I’d like to see it before year’s end, personally. The federation would like to see it as soon as possible as well, because that shows a more responsible act towards the sport.”
The Federation is also hoping that it can brand itself properly to encourage ATV enthusiasts to take trips and vacations to the Maritimes in order to use their machines. It is working alongside the provinces – including Prince Edward Island – to create a larger number of trails. However, it feels that ensuring that those who travel to ride along those trails should have off road vehicle insurance coverage while they’re there. At the moment, it is illegal to ride these vehicles on the highways and the Confederation Trail.
