Synthesis of Information Related to Highway Practices. Topic 57-20. Practices Related to Offroad Vehicles Sharing the Road, Path, and Trail

Preliminary Scope: In many rural areas, offroad and special purpose vehicles [e.g., all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), utility task vehicles (UTVs), four-wheelers, golf carts, and dirt bikes] share the roadway with cars and trucks. These vehicles also share trails and paths with pedestrians and cyclists. Users of offroad vehicles may be unaware of how they can legally mix with existing traffic on roads, paths, and trails. There is a gap in knowledge about how state departments of transportation (DOTs) manage offroad vehicles and the challenges these vehicles may pose. The objective of this synthesis is to document state DOT practices for offroad vehicles on roads, paths, and trails. Information to be gathered includes (but is not limited to): (1) Current state laws or regulations governing the registration and operation of offroad vehicles on different classifications of roadways, paths, and trails; (2) Data utilized by state DOTs to determine ownership/usage rates and safety issues; and (3) State DOT coordination with local jurisdictions. Information will be gathered through a literature review, a survey of state DOTs, and follow-up interviews with selected DOTs for the development of case examples. Information gaps and suggestions for research to address those gaps will be identified. Information sources (partial): (1) Utah Street-Legal OHV Requirements, Utah Division of Motor Vehicles website; (2) Off-Highway Vehicles on Roads, Consumer Federation of America website; (3) Case Studies of Communities of Less than 10,000 People with Bicycle & Pedestrian Infrastructure, Western Transportation Institute, 2022; (4) Development of Strategies for Shared Use of Roadways between ROV/ATV and Typical Highway Vehicles, South Dakota Department of Transportation, Research in Progress; (5) Documenting the Characteristics of Traffic Crashes for RITI (rural, isolated, tribal, and indigenous) Communities in Idaho, National Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology, 2020; (6) Safety Evaluation of Statewide Off-Highway Vehicle Use in Alaska: Crash Review, On- and Off-road System Use, and Conflict Evaluation, Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium, 2018.

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5997
• Supplemental Notes:
  • A research agency has been selected for the project. The contracting process is underway.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Proposed
• Funding: $65,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 20-05, Topic 57-20

• Sponsor Organizations:

  State Departments of Transportation (participating member states of American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO))

  American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC    20001
• Project Managers:

  Hutchins, Mark

• Start Date: 20260803
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: All terrain vehicles; Regulations; Rural highways; State departments of transportation; Traffic safety; Trails; Vehicle mix
• Subject Areas: Highways; Law; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01972951
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 20-05, Topic 57-20
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Nov 27 2025 3:51AM