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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Motorized vehicles forced to gear down

Dune buggies and all-terrain vehicles are still allowed at the Moses Lake Sand Dunes ORV Area, but alcoholic beverages are not. Grant County banned drinking at the dunes to help reduce alcohol-related accidents. (File/ / The Spokesman-Review)
The Spokesman-Review
Dune buggies and all-terrain vehicles are still allowed at the Moses Lake Sand Dunes ORV Area, but alcoholic beverages are not. Grant County banned drinking at the dunes to help reduce alcohol-related accidents. (File/ / The Spokesman-Review)

More rules were enacted to take the edge off an expanding population of motorized vehicle operators riding machines that are faster and more technologically advanced that anything riders imagined 30 years ago.

•Recreational boat drivers in Washington will be required to complete a boater safety course under a law passed by the Washington Legislature. The law will be applied to boaters age 20 and under by 2008 and phased in to include all boat drivers by 2015.

•Alcoholic beverages were banned at the sand dune areas popular with off-road vehicle riders south of Moses Lake. Grant County commissioners took the step at the urging of sheriff’s deputies and local hospital staff who had responded to rashes of alcohol- and speed-related accidents and injuries during holidays such as Memorial Day.

•A new national policy for federal Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands was adopted to restrict motorized vehicles to trails designated for motorized use and ban cross-country motorized travel unless an area is specifically designated for that type of recreation.