A snowmobile-pedestrian collision in the Hamlet of Busby has, once again drawn attention to off-highway vehicle use in Westlock County.
RCMP are still trying to identify a female suspect after a snowmobile driving through the hamlet on Jan. 24 at around 7:30 p.m. struck a young pregnant woman on her property.
The impact left 25-week-pregnant Busby resident Vanessa Gerla covered in bruises and tore off her shoe.
“We were just getting home and saw some snowmobile tracks on our property,” Gerla recalled. “I thought I would wave them down and ask, ‘Hey, was it you who just drove on our property, could you not drive on our property.’”
That’s when the snowmobiler throttled the machine and swerved towards her. Gerla claims she was thrown back and run over by the skid.
Although her unborn daughter is alright, Gerla said she’s still dealing with the emotional impact of the incident.
“I just got lucky,” she said.
“I am still an emotional wreck over it. How someone could do that to someone and just leave them there is just beyond me.”
Westlock County bylaw prohibits the use of snowmobiles and other OHVs within any hamlets except for the purpose of entering and exiting an operator’s residence using the most direct route possible.
It also prohibits the use of OHVs in any park or school property within the county, or at a speed greater than 20 km/h, something Gerla said happens in Busby on a constant basis.
“They drive where kids play,” she said.
“Kids shouldn’t have to be scared to go outside.”
Gerla’s husband Steven Westman said he is disgusted with the lack of respect most snowmobilers traveling through Busby have for people and property.
“It honestly makes me sick inside. It makes me upset to even think that we could possibly have lost our daughter,” he said.
“It makes me sick from growing up with a family of snowmobilers that someone would actually do this. I was always trained to do the right thing: wait for pedestrians: talk to people who approach you; don’t just run them over.”
Westman said that he thinks snowmobile use in Busby has gotten chaotic and that the problems stem from awareness around snowmobile etiquette.
“There’s ways around town. I don’t know why these people think it’s OK to ride through town and terrorize the neighbourhood,” he said.
“I’d like to see that there’s no snowmobiles going through town at all …before you know it, there’s people riding around, cutting through your property. They don’t watch where they’re going — they hit culverts, they hit fences.”
The couple isn’t alone in their worry.
Busby resident Ron Andersen said that snowmobile use in the hamlet has gotten out of control in recent years.
“The snowmobile traffic sometimes goes until 2-3 a.m. and some people would like to sleep,” Andersen said.
Andersen said snowmobilers in the hamlet frequently violate the county’s OHV bylaw.
“There are times when… I’ve been close to being hit by ATVs, snowmobiles, you name it.
“I didn’t realize how bad it was until I moved to town.”
While stories like Gerla’s and Andersen’s can found easily on a quick walk through Busby, they do seem to be in the minority.
After knocking on several doors in the area around Gerla’s home, the Westlock News identified eight of 10 residents who either knew about the OHV activity and didn’t care or hadn’t noticed a problem.
Most spoke under terms of anonymity. Gerla, herself, admitted to facing strong pressure from neighbours to retract her statements to Westlock RCMP regarding the incident.
One resident living near the hotel, said that as long as Busby remains a rural area, OHV use will be an inescapable fact of life.
“I’ve never had a problem. Snowmobiling is a way of life out here,” she said.
“I think that people have respect and the incident that happened is a one-off issue.”
Another resident, also speaking anonymously, said that most neighbours agree the machines aren’t a problem, despite damage to trees on his own property.
“We see them driving here all the time,” he said. “They’ve come through our property, maybe destroyed a couple of trees, but it’s not the first thing that I would complain about.”
Another resident at the same home said that she wouldn’t mind increased regulation, but that the problem “wasn’t that bad.”
A third Busby home-owner said that she isn’t bothered by the machines, despite the fact they drive through a nearby lot where her children play.
“I don’t feel like there is a danger. I wouldn’t change anything.”
Westlock County began developing new OHV regulations in 2015 to further restrict vehicle use within hamlet boundaries and around the county, but public reaction to the bill was substantial and implementation skidded to a halt, according to Westlock County reeve Bud Massey.
While some say snowmobile use throughout the hamlet is rampant, many residents feel the vehicle use is necessary and most incidents go unreported, he said.
According to Massey, so long as public support is in favour of snowmobile and ATV use in hamlets around the county, enforcement will always be an issue, although peace officers and RCMP are doing everything they can to ensure bylaw enforcement.
“Since 2009, we have had 26 reported incidents of off-road vehicle violations. Our peace officer, in the last year, has issued less than six tickets,” he said.
“I’m not trying to make this a small issue, but what I’m saying is that it hasn’t received a lot of public support.”
Massey said that until public support around the issue builds, OHV operators will likely continue to play cat and mouse with law enforcement.
“There should be either a police officer or RCMP officer [in all of our county hamlets] five to six times a week,” Massey said.
“People are playing the Russian Roulette of ‘I think I can get away with this and I’m not going to get caught.’ Well, they will.”
In the meantime, Massey recommends those offended by snowmobile use in the hamlet do their best to report infractions to the county.
“We encourage people to phone our office no matter what time it is,” he said.
“More important, if they get the licence plate number the date and the issue, a description of the machine and the individual, our peace officer can lay charges. We can enforce it if we have the assistance of the public.
“Is it a bad thing? Absolutely. Is it a way of life in the rural community? Yes, but that doesn’t give anyone the right to break the law.”
As to whether or not January’s collisions will return OHV bylaw discussions to council chambers, Massey said he’s not sure.
“Will there be more discussion around the council table? Yes. Will it bring about changes in the bylaw? I don’t know,” he shrugged.
“I think we already have enough legislation and effective people to help us enforce it. That will do more than passing a piece of paper.”
