Lethbridge County Reeve Lorne Hickey. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Off-highway vehicles now allowed on Lethbridge County roads

Jul 4, 2019 | 3:21 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Lethbridge County Council has adopted a bylaw to allow off-highway vehicles (OHV) to be used on three-digit numbered highways for faming operations.

Reeve Lorne Hickey says quite a few counties in Southern Alberta already permit their use, so they wanted to bring their regulations in line with other municipalities.

“There are a lot of people who are using them anyways, so it should be legal to do so. There’s a lot of people who rely on them, like for rounding up their cows or going to their irrigation and things like that and they’ve given up on the idea of using the horse and a lot of people don’t like to use a motor bike anymore.”

The bylaw covers OHVs like quads, side-by-sides, and other vehicles that are typically not allowed for use on highways.

Hickey has heard from numerous people on the topic prior to Thursday’s vote, some of which raised concerns about safety.

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He says council has considered numerous safety issues and included measures in the bylaw.

“It has to be a licensed vehicle, you have to wear a helmet and obey the traffic laws of the province, and not exceed 50 km/hour.”

The lower speed limit was important to Hickey because he claims that many people ride their OVHs as fast as 80 km/hour, which he believes is too fast for many of the dirt roads.

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