The owner of a dog that was struck and killed in the Goulds by an ATV says the main problem with illegal use of the machines is lack of enforcement.

The discussion touched off a firestorm on VOCM Open Line this morning about ATV use in the province.

Terry Casey was out hunting in the Power’s Road area when his dog was struck by an ATV. There were skid marks on the road so it’s clear that the machine had tried to avoid the animal. Casey says he bears no ill will toward the young operator, but he hopes people learn from the incident.

Casey, who has a summer home on the Salmonier Line, sees machines being driven recklessly and way too fast. He says there’s an accident waiting to happen in every community. He sees ATVs driving along the Goulds Bypass Road at speeds greater than the speeds at which vehicles are travelling, 80-90 km/h.

Krista Slade, whose family owns Slade’s Funeral Home in Bay Roberts, says they had to install a rock wall along the side of the property to keep the vehicles out. Slade found it disrespectful to families in mourning after the loss of a loved one, having to stop in their tracks because an ATV was going by.

Rick Noseworthy, president of Provincial T’Railway Council, told VOCM Open Line with Linda Swain that owners have done a lot of good repairing washouts and hauling garbage and old cars out of the woods.

However, they have a term for parents who allow their kids to pretty much do as they wish: “genetic blindness.” Noseworthy says the bottom line is that kids on ATVs should never be out of sight of their parents.