Driving Responsibly in the Outdoors.Exploring the great outdoors is a year-round pastime, from hiking and biking to off-roading and extreme sports extreme sports Sports events characterized by high speed or high risk. Such sports include aggressive inline skating, wakeboarding, street luge, skateboarding, and freestyle bicycle events (wherein tricks such as back flips are performed on a bicycle). . The popularity of sport utility vehicles This page lists sports utility vehicles currently in production (as of April 2007), as well as past models. The list includes crossover SUVs, Mini SUVs, Compact SUVs and other similar vehicles. , all-terrain vehicles and trucks shows how much consumers crave an adventurous lifestyle. But unless it's done responsibly, four-wheeling could have a damaging effect on the environment. When driving off the highways and main roads, it's important to take extra precautions. Remembering a few practical tips can help make the trip enjoyable, while minimizing any impact on surrounding areas. --Plan and prepare a route that is safe, legal and within the limitations of your vehicle. Local agencies like the Forest Service, National Park Service, or Bureau of Land Management should have information on off-highway vehicle trails near you. --Stay on designated roads and trails. Drivers should only use trails designated for off-highway vehicle use, and should never make their own shortcuts See Win Shortcuts. or trails. Private land should only be crossed with the owner's permission. --Make sure to drive in the middle when on the trail. You'll avoid widening the lane and destroying vegetation along the roadside. If possible, also avoid driving through mud or soft soil. --Drive over fallen trees or other obstacles at an angle, one wheel at a time. Driving around them can destroy vegetation surrounding the trail, so sometimes it's best to either move the object or drive over it. --If you must cross a stream, do so slowly at a 90-degree angle, and only at trail fording points -- where the trail usually crosses the water. The national nonprofit organization Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. Tread Lightly! has developed a variety of educational materials to encourage responsible four-wheeling, mountain biking mountain biking Sports medicine A sport in which participants use specialized bicycles to navigate rough, steep trails covered with unforgiving rocks Injury risk Concussions, fractures, death. See Extreme sport, Novelty seeking behavior. , ATV (1) (Advanced TV) An early name for the digital TV standard proposed by the Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Service (ACATS). See ACATS. See also ATV Forum. (2) (Analog TV) Refers to the NTSC, PAL and SECAM analog TV standads. riding, sand duning, personal watercraft personal watercraft n. 1. A motorized recreational water vehicle normally ridden by straddling a seat. 2. (used with a pl. verb) Such water vehicles considered as a group. use, snowmobiling and off-highway motorcycling. For the full story, go to http://www.medialinkfeatures.com/home.aspx?Story=30668 ABOUT MEDIALINK FEATURES: Medialink Features provides free, ready-to-run, non-copyrighted news features, fillers and photos to newspaper and online editors. To download copy and photos, please visit http://www.medialinkfeatures.com. NOTE TO EDITORS: All copy and photography is available for free and unrestricted use with Medialink Features (MF) dateline attribution. |
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