{"id":21013,"date":"2025-08-27T14:20:23","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T21:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/?p=21013"},"modified":"2025-08-27T14:20:24","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T21:20:24","slug":"think-safety-first-if-operating-ohvs-over-holiday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/08\/27\/think-safety-first-if-operating-ohvs-over-holiday\/","title":{"rendered":"Think safety first if operating OHVs over holiday"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>NEWS RELEASE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aug. 27, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>PHOENIX \u2014 If operating an off-highway vehicle (OHV) is going to be part of your Labor Day weekend plans, the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) urges enthusiasts to put safety first and avoid unnecessary risks.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe see many people out enjoying Arizona\u2019s roads and trails over long holiday weekends, and that includes Labor Day,\u201d said Kim Jackson, boating and OHV safety education program manager. \u201cWe want everyone who spends time on their OHV to have a fun outing and, more importantly, return home safely.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are many actions that operators of OHVs \u2014 including all-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes and side-by-sides \u2014 can take to ride safely and help ensure the safety of their passengers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Wear a helmet. This is a requirement for all operators and passengers under 18 \u2014 but\u00a0 strongly recommended for everyone. Wearing a helmet can reduce the chances of a traumatic brain injury by as much as 50 percent.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Buckle up. Wearing a seatbelt is critical because it will help keep the operator and any passengers inside the side-by-side in the event of an accident.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Don\u2019t speed. Reasonable and prudent is always the law.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Only carry the number of passengers recommended by the vehicle\u2019s manufacturer. Many accidents are the result of too many people riding a machine that was designed for fewer passengers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Wear riding goggles, a long-sleeved shirt, pants, riding gloves, and over-the-ankle boots.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Never ride alone.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Be prepared and equipped with a map, first-aid kit and whistle, and have basic tools on hand.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Leave details about the trip, including destination and expected time of return, with a\u00a0 friend or family member who can follow up to ensure everyone made it home safely.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stay on designated trails.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As of Jan. 1, 2025, one registered owner of an OHV is required to take a free <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/education\/off-highway-vehicle-education\/\"><strong>safety education course<\/strong><\/a>, \u201c<em>OHV Decal: Safe &amp; Ethical Riding in Arizona,<\/em>\u201d in order to purchase a decal. For more information about rules and regulations, as well as places to ride, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/azgfd.gov\/OHV\"><strong>azgfd.gov\/OHV<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AZGFD urges all OHV operators and passengers to wear a helmet and buckle up. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":14460,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-main-site"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Think safety first if operating OHVs over holiday - Arizona Game &amp; Fish Department<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/08\/27\/think-safety-first-if-operating-ohvs-over-holiday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Think safety first if operating OHVs over holiday - Arizona Game &amp; Fish Department\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"AZGFD urges all OHV operators and passengers to wear a helmet and buckle up.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/08\/27\/think-safety-first-if-operating-ohvs-over-holiday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arizona Game &amp; Fish Department\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-27T21:20:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-27T21:20:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/27160500\/OHV-Guide_360.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"dhajek\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"dhajek\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/08\/27\/think-safety-first-if-operating-ohvs-over-holiday\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/08\/27\/think-safety-first-if-operating-ohvs-over-holiday\/\",\"name\":\"Think safety first if operating OHVs over holiday - Arizona Game &amp; Fish Department\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/08\/27\/think-safety-first-if-operating-ohvs-over-holiday\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/08\/27\/think-safety-first-if-operating-ohvs-over-holiday\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/27160500\/OHV-Guide_360.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-27T21:20:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-27T21:20:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f0ee2263622aa1bde9df0392443881e2\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/08\/27\/think-safety-first-if-operating-ohvs-over-holiday\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/08\/27\/think-safety-first-if-operating-ohvs-over-holiday\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/08\/27\/think-safety-first-if-operating-ohvs-over-holiday\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/27160500\/OHV-Guide_360.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/27160500\/OHV-Guide_360.jpg\",\"width\":360,\"height\":360},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/08\/27\/think-safety-first-if-operating-ohvs-over-holiday\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Think safety first if operating OHVs over holiday\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/\",\"name\":\"Arizona Game &amp; Fish Department\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f0ee2263622aa1bde9df0392443881e2\",\"name\":\"dhajek\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6e5a0f9f8f66221ea261f799a9d5fc7ddb3de337aa5c08d3a9287e5f9d303b76?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6e5a0f9f8f66221ea261f799a9d5fc7ddb3de337aa5c08d3a9287e5f9d303b76?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"dhajek\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/author\/dhajek\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Think safety first if operating OHVs over holiday - Arizona Game &amp; Fish Department","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/08\/27\/think-safety-first-if-operating-ohvs-over-holiday\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Think safety first if operating OHVs over holiday - Arizona Game &amp; Fish Department","og_description":"AZGFD urges all OHV operators and passengers to wear a helmet and buckle up.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/08\/27\/think-safety-first-if-operating-ohvs-over-holiday\/","og_site_name":"Arizona Game &amp; Fish Department","article_published_time":"2025-08-27T21:20:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-08-27T21:20:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":360,"height":360,"url":"https:\/\/azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/27160500\/OHV-Guide_360.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"dhajek","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"dhajek","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/08\/27\/think-safety-first-if-operating-ohvs-over-holiday\/","url":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/08\/27\/think-safety-first-if-operating-ohvs-over-holiday\/","name":"Think safety first if operating OHVs over holiday - Arizona Game &amp; Fish Department","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/08\/27\/think-safety-first-if-operating-ohvs-over-holiday\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/08\/27\/think-safety-first-if-operating-ohvs-over-holiday\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/27160500\/OHV-Guide_360.jpg","datePublished":"2025-08-27T21:20:23+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-27T21:20:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f0ee2263622aa1bde9df0392443881e2"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/08\/27\/think-safety-first-if-operating-ohvs-over-holiday\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/08\/27\/think-safety-first-if-operating-ohvs-over-holiday\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/08\/27\/think-safety-first-if-operating-ohvs-over-holiday\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/27160500\/OHV-Guide_360.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/27160500\/OHV-Guide_360.jpg","width":360,"height":360},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/08\/27\/think-safety-first-if-operating-ohvs-over-holiday\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Think safety first if operating OHVs over holiday"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/","name":"Arizona Game &amp; Fish Department","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f0ee2263622aa1bde9df0392443881e2","name":"dhajek","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6e5a0f9f8f66221ea261f799a9d5fc7ddb3de337aa5c08d3a9287e5f9d303b76?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6e5a0f9f8f66221ea261f799a9d5fc7ddb3de337aa5c08d3a9287e5f9d303b76?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"dhajek"},"url":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/author\/dhajek\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21013"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21017,"href":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21013\/revisions\/21017"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}