The matter summed up: The Norwegian Nature Inspectorate uncovered 173 violations of the Motor Traffic Act in 2023. Of these, 105 were the use of snowmobiles and 66 were the use of ATVs. Over 60 per cent of the reports that were delivered to the police in 2023 were violations of the Motor Traffic Act. Illegal driving in the countryside can create conflict with nature, wildlife and other users. All motor traffic in outlying areas is basically prohibited, but there are exceptions. Section leader Lars Bendik Austmo in the Directorate of the Environment says the reason why so many violations of the law have been uncovered is tips the directorate has received from people. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. On the way home from the cabin on snowmobiles, Stein Solbakken and his grandson Adrian were stopped by the Norwegian Nature Conservancy (SNO). – It doesn’t help to meet at the State Nature Inspectorate. I have the papers in order, says Solbakken. This day in Jamtfjelldalen in Grane municipality in Helgeland, the nature inspectorate stopped several snowmobile drivers, but did not uncover any violations. – That’s actually how we want it, says Toril Lamo, head of road traffic in the State Nature Inspectorate in Nordland. But not everyone follows the law like Solbakken and his grandson. The Norwegian Nature Inspectorate has never uncovered as much illegal driving in the countryside as in 2023. – In some places we feel that there is a problem with illegal driving. Then there could be a conflict with nature, wildlife and others who want to go skiing, says Lamo. Never reported so many offences. Of the 173 offenses against the Motor Traffic Act, 105 were the use of snowmobiles and 66 were the use of ATVs. – The State Nature Inspectorate has never reported as many people to the police for illegal driving in the countryside as they did in 2023, says section leader Lars Bendik Austmo in the Norwegian Environment Agency. Austmo says that over 60 percent of the reports they submitted to the police last year were violations of the Motor Traffic Act. Section leaders in the Norwegian Environment Agency say that SNO locally has a good overview of areas where illegal motor traffic, so-called free-riding, takes place. Photo: Lars-Petter Kalkenberg / news The reason why so many violations of the law have been uncovered, says Austmo, is tips that the directorate has received from people. These tips are followed up by the State Nature Inspectorate. – SNO prioritizes following up on tips, and carrying out inspections in known areas with free driving. SNO is not looking to catch anyone, but wants, through our work with supervision and control, to prevent illegal motor traffic in outlying areas. Motor traffic in outlying areas is prohibited Actually, all motoring in outlying areas is prohibited, but there are exceptions. – It can be driving to the cabin or other types of commercial driving, says Lamo in Nordland. The municipalities can also determine trails for recreational driving with snowmobiles, which has been done in several municipalities in Finnmark, Troms, Nordland and Trøndelag. There are also trails in Telemark and other places in Austlandet. – Here all the municipalities must have a map on their home pages that shows which trails are open and which are not. Toril Lamo in the Norwegian Nature Conservancy. Photo: Lars Petter Kalkenberg / news – What kind of reactions can you get if you break these rules? – It depends on what kind of offense it is. If there is someone who has only driven a little parallel driving, we can impose a fee on them. But if it is a serious offence, they report it to the police. Lemo says that an example of such offenses could be that people are playing around and driving outside the tracks. A serious offense can, for example, be someone “playing”, says Toril Lamo. As in the picture below. Photo: The Norwegian Nature Conservancy Will prioritize control Lemo says there are several reasons why many violations have now been uncovered. – We have received notice from the ministry that we will prioritize being out on motor traffic control. So one of the explanations could be that we are out more and carry out more checks. In 2020, the rules for the use of snowmobiles were changed and many people have acquired snowmobiles both for commercial driving to the cabin and for driving in the trail network in several municipalities. Lemo thinks it may have a connection with more people being caught for breaking the Motor Traffic Act.
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Record number of driving offenses in outlying areas in 2023 – news Nordland
