If you drive a street legal side by side or ATV to the trailheads around Moab, the rules changed this spring. The Moab Times Independent reports Grand County commissioners voted 4 to 3 on April 7 to repeal a 2020 ordinance requiring most OHVs to travel 10 mph below posted speed limits on county roads.

Why they changed it

  • Commissioners who backed the repeal said the separate OHV signs were confusing and hard for law enforcement to administer
  • Commission Chair Melodie McCandless said the signs may lead people to think machines that aren't street legal are allowed on public streets
  • Commissioner Jacques Hadler, who voted no, said past sound testing showed OHVs going slower make a lot less noise. The 2020 rule had pointed to trail access routes like Kane Creek Boulevard, Spanish Valley Drive and Spanish Trail Road

A few weeks earlier, the Moab Sun News reported city staff told the Moab City Council its 15 mph OHV signs were never legally enforceable under state law.

Our take

Even with the separate limits gone, the noise concerns are real for folks who live along those roads. Drive the posted limit or a little under through neighborhoods, keep the revs down and save the fun for the trail. Being a good neighbor is part of keeping Moab welcoming to wheelers.