Four-wheelers are practical for hunters and farmers and fun for everybody else.

That explains their growing popularity.

They present two challenges for governments, though.

One is that because they can be dangerous, there’s pressure to pass safety regulations.

The other is that because they are so easily and so often stolen, there’s pressure to create tools to aid law enforcement.

Charlie Mitchell is executive editor of The Vicksburg Post. Write to him at Box 821668, Vicksburg, MS 39182, or e-mail

Some ATVs are enclosed and have seat belts. Some have heating and air conditioning and cost more than small sedans. Most, however, feature four big tires, a saddle seat, handlebars and an oversized motor.

Four-wheelers are a lot safer than the three-wheelers that preceded them. The earlier ATVs had light front ends. Accelerate too quickly, especially uphill, and they’d flip over backward at the perfect angle to break the neck of the driver, passenger or both. They were so dangerous that not only were new sales of three-wheelers banned, it became illegal to engage in private sales.

It’s harder to flip a four-wheeler, but there are still many fatalities in Mississippi every year. (About 300 in the past 20 years, including about 100 16 years old or younger.)

That’s why helmet laws, setting a minimum age for operators and other legislation is being considered.

These and many more safety standards are advised in manufacturers guides and imprinted on every four-wheeler sold. But they’re not law.

The problem with making them law, obviously, is that 99.9 percent of the time four-wheelers are operated off public roads and streets and well out of the sight of law enforcement officers. A person already ignoring safety rules isn’t likely to mend his ways just because a law is passed, especially if there’s little chance of getting caught. Estimates are half to two-thirds of Mississippi drivers don’t obey the mandatory seat belt law for cars and trucks, and they have a much better shot at being fined for breaking that law.

Tracking stolen ATVs, however, is another matter.

There was a great hue and cry back when Mississippi joined Lousiana and other rural states in requiring registration of boats, even metal jon boats, and small boat trailers.

Pending legislation to register ATVs the same way is also controversial, many seeing it as the tax man finding a way to extend his reach.

The benefit, as it has been for boats and trailers, would be creating a database for law enforcement to use. Today, when an ATV is stolen, the owner, when he misses it, can provide authorities the serial number, if he has it. It will be recorded and could be helpful in a recovery. So it follows that a database of all ATVs would be even better.

There would be fees, but because even cheap ATVs cost thousands of dollars it makes sense to have a centralized computer file listing owners.

It’s anybody’s guess whether ATV safety laws would save lives. It’s pretty clear, though, that despite objections, having a registration system makes sense.