CALDWELL, Idaho — Idaho State Parks and Recreation teaches free OHV safety courses for people with ATVs, UTVs or motor bikes. The two-hour course covers the rules of off-roading, stewardship, safety and how to maneuver your machine.
- Participants just need to bring their own ATV, UTV, or motor bike to use during the class.
- Participants receive an OHV safety course certification after completing the class.
- You can sign up forIdaho OHV safety classes here.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
“They come in, they're afraid they’re skittish, they're nervous.”
Rich Gummersall teaches people how to explore the world of off-roading safely.
“By the end, you see the confidence in their face. They're looking through their turns, they're using their throttle appropriately and you just watch that growth," says Gummersall, the OHV Education Coordinator for Idaho.
He tells me that this course builds a good foundation for being safe in the back country.
“We got this [OHV] to explore and take back roads and go to places you otherwise wouldn’t see," says Sabrina Isenhart, an OHV Safety Course student.
She and her family recently bought a side-by-side to explore Idaho’s Back roads. They decided to take this course to get everyone, especially their 13 year old daughter, up to speed with safety.
“I think, you know, if any kid is going to ride a side-by-side, a four wheeler whatever it may be, they definitely need the safety measures," says Sabrina Isenhart.
In Idaho, riders under 16 years old can operate off-highway vehicles under supervision of an adult.
“I think it’s awesome, especially for someone like a kid who wants to learn in a closed environment. Some kids don’t always learn through their parents, it can be combative at times, so doing this and having her learn from an instructor someone that is experienced just makes it better all the way around," says Jason Isenhart.
“Dad or mom could be saying the same thing, but they listen to the instructor so much differently," says Gummersall.
For kids like Autumn, classes like this give them a controlled environment to learn the basics of driving.
“I learned how to take sharp turns, and how to go up steep hills, really steep hills... It’ll help me be more comfortable because I can know how to do it on trails without other people," says Autumn Isenhart.
“It’s a free opportunity to better yourself, and you might learn something even as an experienced rider of what you should and shouldn’t do,” says Jason Isenhart.
The class also focuses on the laws of OHV use, the importance of stewardship and minimizing your impact when enjoying public lands.
“Idaho has so much public land. There’s so much forest, so much BLM in Idaho and so long as users keep the landscape open that opportunity hopefully will remain," says Gummersall.
