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It’s an issue that doesn’t seem to go away. Lawmakers say this may be the year an all-terrain vehicle safety law, or “Chandler’s Law,” will pass.

State Rep. Harry Ott, D-St. Matthews, first introduced the bill in the House in January 2004 following the death of 16-year-old Chandler Saylor of Swansea in an ATV accident in 2003.

“Parents cannot watch their children 24-7,” said Ott in an interview about Chandler’s Law. “I just think it’s something that we need as a society. Whatever we can do to protect young kids, we need to do it.”

The bill requiring ATV safety courses and protective gear for four-wheelers has twice failed to become law.

Gov. Mark Sanford vetoed “Chandler’s Law” in June 2006, saying that while he agrees children should be protected, he believes the bill would “impinge on private property rights” and “diminish parental responsibility.” The Senate sustained his veto.

A similar bill was introduced in the Senate on Jan. 25 by Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, and John Land, D-Manning.

“Basically it’s the same bill,” Hutto said. “It’s very pertinent (from a) public safety standpoint.”

The bill would require ATV drivers ages 6-16 to complete a safety education course. Under the bill, passengers and ATV operators ages 16 and younger would be required to wear goggles and a helmet when operating the off-road vehicles.

Additionally, riders 16 and younger on public lands across the state would have to be accompanied by an adult, and it would be unlawful to operate an ATV at night unless headlights are used.

“They’re fun; there’s nothing wrong with them. If they would’ve been around when I was young I’d have wanted one,” Hutto said. “But when you have young people without any training, they need something to balance that.”

Hutto equates the bill with a driver’s license, saying, “You give a license to a 16-year-old driving a car. These things can go just as fast.”

As it stands, the bill would require the state Department of Natural Resources to offer the training courses to certify an applicant.

However, Hutto did say the wording of the bill probably will be changed to read that DNR would have the power to approve or disapprove of certification classes offered in the private sector.

The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission estimates that in 2005, the most recent year for which statistics are available, there were 136,700 injuries involving ATVs. Of those, 40,400 injuries involved children 16 and under.

The CPSC also said ATVs were involved in the deaths of 46 people of all ages in South Carolina from 1982 to 2001. The number of deaths from 2002 to 2005 nearly equaled the previous 20 years’ total of 37 deaths.

Late last year, while speaking on the bill, Ott said, “I’m sure, before we return in January, we’ll read about another child getting killed on an ATV.”

The bill’s reintroduction in the House on March 1 came just five days after the death of a 10-year-old Bowman girl who was riding on the back of an ATV driven by her 13-year-old brother.

The ATV toppled over when the siblings got to close to a 13-foot ravine. The two children and the vehicle landed at the bottom of the ravine, with the four-wheeler striking the girl.

Hutto said the bill is slated for a subcommittee hearing, the date of which is not yet set. He does expect the bill to have a vote at some point this year.

“We think it has merit,” Hutto said. “We hope to get the governor on board, but hopefully we’ll have enough votes for it to pass if not.”

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