Free Republic

5 ATVs surround a SUV while driving trying to open the passenger's door. Seems like a pretty bold move for a 450lb ATV vs a 4,000 - 5,000lb vehicle. I wonder what is considered legal for the driver to do when being surrounded by ATV's attempting to open their passenger door and block them?

Police departments facing more and more all-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes and motorcycles on the streets are using any tool possible to stem the illegal traffic. In Reading, that now includes smashing seized off-road vehicles. On May 12, for the first time, the city in Berks County had an excavator pulverize two dumpsters filled with ATVs and dirt bikes. The department filmed the destruction and posted it on its Facebook page, in part to send a message to drivers, Sgt. Mel Fegely said. There were varying responses from viewers. Some people were upset, and wanted to see the vehicles reused or...

An 82-year-old man was surrounded and assaulted by a group of people riding dirt bikes and ATVs in Boston last Thursday. Police are seeking the public’s help in identifying the suspects. The victim, a Brookline man, suffered serious injuries and remains in the hospital. He is expected to survive. State Police said the man was driving his 1996 Buick Century from Park Drive to Boylston Street when 30 to 40 dirt bike and ATV riders forced him onto the curb. Several of the suspects then began smashing windows of the victim’s car.

We’re not sure if this is an ATV, or just a really small tank. Produced in St. Petersburg, Russia, the Sherp ATV is touted as one of the most durable and versatile ATVs on the market. It weighs just under 3,000 pounds and comes equipped with a 44.3 horsepower Kubota V1505 diesel engine, giving it a modest 28 mph on land. What is truly impressive about the Sherp is that it is aquatic as well, thanks to its giant, self-inflating tires. That makes getting across a lake with open ice a breeze, although it still looks pretty scary. Don’t worry...

Do you and one friend need to go anywhere — right now? You'll need the Sherp ATV. It's a two-passenger, diesel-powered wilderness-squasher with patented self-inflating tires. With those massive chunks of rubber at each corner, and nearly encompassing the entire side of the truck, the Sherp can easily roll over obstacles as big as 27.5 inches tall. Although it has a small 1.5-liter diesel engine that produces a minuscule 44 horsepower, the Sherp weighs about as much as a Toyota Corolla, so it's just enough to get it up to its 28 mph top speed on land. On water it'll...

Although they aren't as common as flying drones, we are seeing an increasing number of wall-climbing robots. What isn't so common, however, are devices like the VertiGo, which both drives on the ground and climbs up walls. Its climbing ability is particularly impressive, as it can even tackle walls with rough, uneven surfaces.

Apparently getting out of the jet-ski business opened up far greener pastures in the high-tech, 21st-century military vehicle market for Minnesota-based snowmobile/ATV/electric vehicle manufacturer Polaris(who also produce Victory and Indian big bikes through their motorcycle subsidiary). First they concocted a clever 2-man mini-jeep -the Polaris MV850- with computer-designed tires that require no air, able to operate even after sustaining damage from gunfire or shrapnel. They've also spun-out a line of small, lightweight military support/patrol vehicles loosely-based on their existing consumer products, including the MRZR in both 2-man and 4-man configurations. But NOW they're getting serious: aiming for a Pentagon light-vehicle...

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is looking into how to ban passengers from riding four wheelers in the name of public safety. The agency issued a “request for information” on Monday to learn the feasibility of prohibiting more than one person from riding an all-terrain vehicle (ATV). The notice will be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday. “Since the 1980s, the CPSC has addressed ATV safety through various activities, including rulemaking, recalls, consumer education, media outreach following fatal incidents, and litigation,” Todd A. Stevenson, secretary of the CPSC wrote. “Despite these activities, ATV-related fatalities continue to be one...

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Six-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Amy Van Dyken severed her spine in an all-terrain vehicle accident over the weekend, and told emergency workers she could not move her toes or feel anything touching her legs. The 46-year-old swimmer, who goes by her married name Van Dyken Rouen, was injured Friday. She was airlifted to a hospital and had surgery to stabilize her spine. Hospital spokeswoman Alice Giedraitis didn't provide details Monday on Rouen's injuries. She said the swimmer was in good condition. A letter from the Van Dyken and Rouen families said she severed her spinal cord...

Video of Home Built Vehicle That Can Handle Thin Ice

OK, my son has outgrown his battery powered 4 wheeler. He is now 8 years old and I'm soliciting Freeper advice about moving up to a gas powered youth quad. I don't have too much to spend, so it will probably be a used one. Any advice on preferred make/model. Also, are there any modifications I can make to the quad to make it more safe? I have a fear of a flip over. Many thanks, Maverick

Get ready for a firefighting vehicle that might have arrived from your old Saturday morning GI Joe cartoons. Yanko has showcased an ATV design by Liam Ferguson that can carry remotely-operated water cannons and a two-person crew into the heart of a raging blaze, and emerge unscathed. Firefighters currently rely on modified Toyota Landcruisers or other utility vehicles for doing recon on hotspots. Those work well in a pinch for navigating rough terrain, but carry only a meager water supply of 500 liters and cannot survive a burnover when flames suddenly sweep over the area. The proposed Amatoya vehicle...

Click to watch on You TubeWASHINGTON, Oct. 11, 2009 -- Embedded above is a b-roll video of the ATV MRAP in Afghanistan. Scenes include the vehicle driving through the base and interviews. (Courtesy Video, American Forces Network Afghanistan. Length: 00:01:38.)

With all the exciting news this summer of upcoming new plug-in hybrids and EVs, it was easy to overlook a fascinating new vehicle that almost none of us will ever drive but will have a significant impact on each and every one of our lives. That vehicle is the Oshkosh M-ATV. These clever, capable vehicles were designed, tested, approved and put into production in record time, with the first of them hitting the ground in Afghanistan this week (check out the video below). Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters that at least 6,644 of the M-ATVs would go...

Former Congressman Bill Orton, a political maverick who served three terms as a Democrat in one of Utah's most conservative districts, has died. The 60-year-old died in an all-terrain vehicle accident Saturday afternoon at the Little Sahara Sand Dunes, the Juab County sheriff said. "He was riding out on the sand and went off a very steep sand dune, and when he impacted the bottom, the front end of the four-wheeler flipped on top of him, injuring him," Sheriff Alden Orme told the Deseret News late Saturday. "He was alone at the time of the accident. Another ATV rider passed...

Kahlua was a sweet pony who gently carried children on his back and was always the first in his pasture to trot up to and greet visitors. On Wednesday his owner was horrified to find the blind pony dead in his pasture in Shenango Township, Mercer County. Large pieces of skin were missing from both back legs, and a bone in one hind leg was broken.

Polaris Industries Inc. has completed first production of and received orders from the US Department of Defense for its newest military vehicle, the MV800 4X4 ATV. The MV800 is Polaris’ first vehicle featuring a new 760cc, 30kW (40 hp) twin-cylinder 4-stroke engine utilizing a newly developed air-assisted direct-injection combustion system.

CHLORIDE, Ariz. - Two girls riding an all-terrain vehicle fell into a mine shaft, killing one while the other remained trapped overnight, authorities said Sunday. The 10-year-old girl was pulled out in the morning with injuries. A rope team descended into the vertical shaft, where the 13-year-old girl was found dead, sheriff's spokeswoman Sandy Edwards said. Efforts were under way to remove her body. Edwards did not know how far down the girls had fallen and did not know whether the girls' relationship. The pair went missing about 7 p.m. Saturday and never came back. Officials discovered they were the...

Driven by an increase in imports from China, U.S. and Japanese producers have taken the unusual position of asking Congress to approve legislation mandating safety standards for all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), which consumer groups have long targeted as dangerous. “It’s somewhat extraordinary for our industry to be asking that standards be made mandatory,” said David Murray of Yamaha, which employs over 3,000 people in the U.S. making ATVs. He and others point to the fact that new ATV suppliers from China and Taiwan have not signed voluntary agreements adopted by companies like Yamaha and Honda to meet certain safety standards. “The...

With Europe's first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) due to deliver supplies to the International Space Station this fall, NASA has begun training U.S. civil servants to help trouble-shoot if needed during what is supposed to be a largely Russian-European operation. Ordinarily, those problem-solving duties would fall primarily on NASA's contractors. But U.S. export controls governing the exchange of technical data have complicated matters for NASA and its partners as they prepare for ATV's debut. NASA asked the U.S. State Department in December for some space station-specific relief from U.S. International Traffic in Arms regulations that govern many space-related products and...