The Dodge County Sheriff says an ATV crash last weekend that seriously injured a nine year old boy raises questions about Wisconsin’s drunken driving laws. Sheriff Dale Schmidt says investigators believe alcohol was a factor in the crash that critically injured the nine year old boy who was a passenger on the ATV when it rolled over in an intersection. Schmidt says under current state law being convicted of operating an ATV while under the influence of alcohol does not count against your driver’s license. In this case, the ATV operator has prior OWI convictions. “However this being on an ATV those offenses do not apply because the way the law is written an ATV is not considered a motor vehicle and therefore we need to follow the DNR statute for operating an ATV while under the influence,” Schmidt told WFDL news. “Each one is it’s own offense. So you could get a first (OWI) on an ATV, a first on a snowmobile, a first on a boat and a first in an automobile and have four first offense OWIs.” Schmidt says that doesn’t make sense to him. “It doesn’t make any sense at all because you’re operating a motor vehicle on public property and I think the legislature needs to tighten that up.”
