State to increase penalties for ATV riders who trespass

Albany - A measure awaiting Gov. George Pataki's signature would raise the penalties for riding all-terrain vehicles on farmland posted against trespassing. The amendment to state vehicle and traffic law sets graduated fines up to $550 for the third violation within 18 months and up to 90 days in jail. It was backed by the New York Farm Bureau and passed the Senate 60-1 and the Assembly 134-0 last month. In his sponsor's memo, Sen. William Larkin Jr. said unauthorized ATV use is "very prevalent" on New York agricultural lands, damaging orchards, vineyards, croplands and pasture, eroding soil and leaving access roads rutted. Hudson Valley growers had raised the issue with the Orange County Republican. Farmers also are concerned about liability for ATV accidents on their land, and the penalties meant to discourage unauthorized riding, said Stephen Cascales, counsel to Larkin. "It's not a Draconian penalty. It's something for a kid or young adult who - 500 bucks will kind of curtail their desire to do this. It's for their protection, too." The bill hasn't reached the governor's office yet, Pataki spokeswoman Jennifer Meicht said Friday. "We'll certainly take a look at it once it's sent to us for review." It would take effect Nov. 1. Assemblyman William Magee, a Madison County Democrat who chairs the Assembly Agriculture Committee, said in his sponsor's memo that the courts rarely impose current law's maximum $250 fine on violators, who often are released with just a warning. Under the amendment, the fine for a first offense would be up to $250 and 15 days in jail, rising to a possible $400 fine and 45 days in jail for a second offense within 18 months, and up to 90 days and $550 for subsequent infractions in that period. Traffic violations are often pleaded down to lesser offenses in court, Cascales said. The new measure sets up a framework where repeat offenders pleading down will at least face a fine, he said. State Sen. Thomas Duane, a Manhattan Democrat, voted against the bill. He said the jail penalties for second and third offenses are too harsh. "I think that a rider could make mistakes. In open spaces it's difficult to tell who owns what property," he said. John McGraw, president of the Tug Hill Wheelers, an ATV club in Lewis County, said he doesn't have a problem with the measure. "The farmer's got to be able to raise his crops. Somebody riding up and down, tearing up his crops, he's not going to be able to."