Young riders on crown land / trail system? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Young riders on crown land / trail system?

B

beverage

Well-known member
Is anyone familiar with the rules regarding young riders and crown land?

I see the following section of the Ontario legislation Law Document English View

Age limit for driving

4 (1) No owner of an off-road vehicle shall permit a child under the age of twelve to drive the vehicle. R.S.O. 1990, c. O.4, s. 4 (1).

Exception

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply where the child is driving the vehicle,


(a) on land occupied by the vehicle owner; or


(b) under the close supervision of an adult. R.S.O. 1990, c. O.4, s. 4 (2).

My son is 8. I'm interested in taking him on some nearby trails and crown land, but don't want to get stuck with a big fine. The "under the close supervision of an adult" seems pretty loose, and a big loophole in the law, but how is it enforced in practice? If I'm following or leading him down a trail, or standing off to the side of a field keeping an eye on him, am I meeting the exception?

I'm in the Bay of Quinte area, so a lot of trails just north of us (EOTA).

 
beverage said:
My son is 8. I'm interested in taking him on some nearby trails and crown land, but don't want to get stuck with a big fine. The "under the close supervision of an adult" seems pretty loose, and a big loophole in the law, but how is it enforced in practice? If I'm following or leading him down a trail, or standing off to the side of a field keeping an eye on him, am I meeting the exception?
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This isn't the answer to your question but I don't think I would put an 8 year old on trails. The problem with public trails is they go both ways and I would hate for a little guy to meet a big bike coming around a corner pretty hot. If you have a friend to lead and you ride behind him that would be a lot better.

I would probably just be taking him to RJ's on Wednesday and Saturdays to ride the kids track which is very tame. If you really want trails gopher dunes is kind of far from you but they have a really nice kids track and 3 one way trails which would be good. Motopark in Chatsworth again has a good kids track.
 
beverage said:
...
I'm in the Bay of Quinte area, so a lot of trails just north of us (EOTA).
Click to expand...
That EOTA won't help you much, those are quad guys, they won't have a clue,
if you are just looking for a reasonably isolated area to play in township sand pit type terrain I can PM some recommendations.
 
beverage said:
Is anyone familiar with the rules regarding young riders and crown land?

I see the following section of the Ontario legislation Law Document English View

Age limit for driving

4 (1) No owner of an off-road vehicle shall permit a child under the age of twelve to drive the vehicle. R.S.O. 1990, c. O.4, s. 4 (1).

Exception

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply where the child is driving the vehicle,


(a) on land occupied by the vehicle owner; or


(b) under the close supervision of an adult. R.S.O. 1990, c. O.4, s. 4 (2).

My son is 8. I'm interested in taking him on some nearby trails and crown land, but don't want to get stuck with a big fine. The "under the close supervision of an adult" seems pretty loose, and a big loophole in the law, but how is it enforced in practice? If I'm following or leading him down a trail, or standing off to the side of a field keeping an eye on him, am I meeting the exception?

I'm in the Bay of Quinte area, so a lot of trails just north of us (EOTA).
Click to expand...
As was mentioned I wouldn't take a little kid/bike on trails anyways and I believe the regulations are pretty clear that you can't. Following him or leading him isn't close enough I don't think.

Taking him to an open area to watch him practice and learn on a small track where you can see him all the time would be the best.

I would take Trials up on his offer to help and maybe contact the Bytown club (Ottawa) as they may know something. Northumberland trail Riders which is east of you has a property of their own for member use, though I don't know anything beyond that.
 
fwiw: You can obtain a Youth class CMA competition license starting at age 5 for some discipline's (including observed trials and flat track for sure).
... although that won't buy you much other then to be able to ride in competition
and maybe have something to show a cop if they really needed to hassle you about your pre teen riding a mini bike way back in the woods.
 
The SOCT trials folks welcome kids as well. Entry to competitions is free, but they must have a CVMG membership for insurance purposes. Some of the sites are open for practice to members, and we sometimes have an Enduro class for giggles.
SOVT
 
beverage said:
Is anyone familiar with the rules regarding young riders and crown land?

I see the following section of the Ontario legislation Law Document English View

Age limit for driving

4 (1) No owner of an off-road vehicle shall permit a child under the age of twelve to drive the vehicle. R.S.O. 1990, c. O.4, s. 4 (1).

Exception

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply where the child is driving the vehicle,


(a) on land occupied by the vehicle owner; or


(b) under the close supervision of an adult. R.S.O. 1990, c. O.4, s. 4 (2).

My son is 8. I'm interested in taking him on some nearby trails and crown land, but don't want to get stuck with a big fine. The "under the close supervision of an adult" seems pretty loose, and a big loophole in the law, but how is it enforced in practice? If I'm following or leading him down a trail, or standing off to the side of a field keeping an eye on him, am I meeting the exception?

I'm in the Bay of Quinte area, so a lot of trails just north of us (EOTA).
Click to expand...
Following or leading closely is acceptable, sitting in the truck while they rip through the woods is not.
Make sure the bike is plated and insured. Make sure your insurance on the bike has the OPFC32 endorsement, this allows unlicensed riders to ride offroad and still be covered for liability. You will need the opfc32 because they are under 16.

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In simcoe county we have a massive trail system thanks to our local club Scorra. It's a family club just like all the member clubs in the oftr. Kids are very welcome on the trails. Male sure that they are competent with the use of the gas and brakes first. Practice in an open area until they are ready for trails.

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Thanks all, for the feedback.

Bayside Trail Blazers park is right next to Shannonville Motorsport park, which is about 20 minutes from my place, and is obviously a good place to learn and just run laps. Still digging through the details of membership and open / close / availability for juniors.

The Crown land and trails correlate with a different cost, day / time availability, and variety. Trails are obviously not the best place to learn to ride, but if he has the skill and control, they provide an option. Not to mention my son is a nature nut, so I think he'd find the trails more interesting than simply lapping a track.
 
My kid got a crf50 for his sixth birthday. At around age 7 or 8 I would take him to an abandoned crown land sand pit with his best friend. They rode for about 20-30 minutes and then parked the bike so they could play army rolling down the hills and such.
Like wise, when I took them to an abandoned broken farm - they found a nest of about 40? baby snakes under some old wooden boards. Never got back on the bike lol. It was a tough job explaining to them that they couldn't bring any snakes home. All those baby snakes were quite a show.
Kids do have a short attention span, everything is so new to them. Yup, keep it fun.
 
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Sebi said:
Out of curiosity, is there an online mapping website for crown land/trails? I'd be interested in some if there's anything within an hour of KW
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Good Evening as the president of the Ontario Federation of Trail Riders I can say there are no legal public trails within a short distance. If you join KW Cyclesport they have private trails about an hour north of KW. Otherwise there are a few hundred Kim’s of trails you can ride as an OFTR member in Simcoe County.
 
coyotejeepguy said:
Good Evening as the president of the Ontario Federation of Trail Riders I can say there are no legal public trails within a short distance. If you join KW Cyclesport they have private trails about an hour north of KW. Otherwise there are a few hundred Kim’s of trails you can ride as an OFTR member in Simcoe County.
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Do you happen to have, or know where I can find, information about trail maps in the Belleville / Napanee and heading north area? I've checked out the EOTA website, but they seem very ATV focused. I'm looking for 2-wheel friendly information. TIA.
 
Northumberland Trail Riders has several members from your area. We have our own riding area with a kid's area as well as some single-track trails. Our trails are just north of west of Castleton (just north of the Big Apple). Join the OFTR and select NTR as your club. The OFTR membership will also allow you to ride other OFTR areas. (They have a map app that shows all the locations). Same rules apply you will both need to be insured.
 
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