Stanstead mother approves of a proposed off-road vehicle safety bill
Quebec Transport Minister François Bonnardel tabled a bill last week demanding better offroad vehicle (ORV) safety practices, which calls for a mandatory training program and a valid driver’s license or permit, much to the pleasure of Ngaire Denora.
“It’s about time that they’re going to take that into consideration because those machines are so dangerous and people don’t know what they’re getting into when they go to ride them,” she said.
The Stanstead resident has been fighting for stiffer safety measures imposed on ORV’S ever since her son, Myles, lost his life in an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) accident three years ago. Monday marks the anniversary of his death.
“I had no idea they were as dangerous as they are until I started researching them and then I was completely shocked out of my mind that there wasn’t mandatory training for them like we have for a car,” Denora said.
She runs a Facebook group called Maq-people For Mandatory Safety Training for Quads and a Facebook page called The “Flip” Side of Atvs/quads. She posts regularly about Atv-related news, which, unfortunately, often deals with accidents and deaths.
Recently, she made her views known about a Vermont law that passed allowing ORVS to ride through the streets of Newport, which borders Stanstead. According to Denora, she received a lot of flack online for her comments demanding mandatory training.
“For some reason they think it’s ridiculous. Well, they have it for motorcycles, they didn’t used to have it for motorcycles, but now they do. It’s like a cult, it’s like a belief system, it’s like Trump supporters,” she said, adding that she had hoped to avoid using that name.
At 24 years old, her son perished while riding his quad, a four-wheel ATV, in Saskatchewan. Myles lost control of his vehicle before hitting a fence post. He was rushed to the hospital where he later died of brain injuries sustained in the crash.
Denora has been on a mission to educate the public about the dangers of riding an ATV without proper training. Her son was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. He had not been drinking and there were no signs of excessive speeding.
“What happened to my son happens every day, they just don’t want to admit it,” Denora said. “There’s this disconnect between the machine and the training that you need to ride them safely.”
The Quebec government committed to implementing mandatory training for ORVS in Jan. 2020, after a tragic accident claimed the lives of five snowmobilers and their guide in Lac Saint-jean.
The bill tabled last week includes a demand for more police officers monitoring off-road trails to deter reckless drivers. And it asks for people living near trails to accept ORV or ATV traffic, but users also need to be respectful of neighbourhood safety.
However, Denore is pushing for more regulations, including increasing minimum age requirements, a written SAAQ exam, and putting more onus on the vehicle manufacturers. She still sees people driving ATVS in her area without any regard for safety.
“I mean I’ve seen people here riding them on the roads and I’m always astounded by how they’re allowed to do that and also they’re speeding on pavement and pavement is the worst surface for an ATV.”
Denora, in an effort to promote ATV safety, started a scholarship fund in memory of Myles. The funds are shared between a school in Kipling, Saskatchewan where Myles was living when he died, and the Lennoxville Vocational Training Centre, where he studied.