Posted December 20, 2006

CD-ROM that Teaches Kids Responsible Riding Now Available

If you're looking for a fun way for your kids to learn safe and responsible riding, the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council has an answer that involves Rascal, the OHV-riding raccoon.

The organization has released an Adventure Trail interactive CD-ROM for kids that was inspired by the group's original Adventure Trail program. Adventure Trail is a 10-step safety and responsible riding education program.

New Riders Pointed in Right Direction Imagine traveling through mountains, woods, desert, prairie, and along beautiful streams on your ATV or dirtbike all in one afternoon. Well, in fact, you actually complete the entire ride in about 10 minutes. And you really don’t get to ride an OHV, but the kids all think its pretty cool anyway. What we’re referring to is the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council’s (NOHVCC) all-new Adventure Trail, an interactive program for potential OHV riders. Its primary goal is to help ensure that there are plenty of trails available in the future for these young riders. We all know that the key to keeping trails open, as well as getting new ones started up, is to make sure all OHV riders are on their best behavior when they are on the trails. Things like being courteous to other trail users, keeping your machines quiet, wearing all the proper safety gear, and staying on the trails will go a long way when the powers-that-be make their decisions on whether the trail will stay opened to motorized recreation for the next season. NOHVCC’s Adventure Trail addresses these messages as well as many more in the large, colorful panels that border the "trail" inside their semi-hauler. Each panel contains a specific message in the humorous drawings that feature spectacular scenery and lots of wildlife. As the kids (and usually their parents, who may learn a thing or two as well) go through the trail, they work on a 10-question quiz that gets graded at the end. And then the NOHVCC folks have all sorts of fun stuff to hand out for the youngsters to take home, further emphasizing the messages. To get their message out to even more folks, a newly developed Adventure Trail poster series is now available to any OHV group, dealership, or land management organization that wishes to use it at their events or dealerships. The 10 two-foot by three-foot posters are easy to display and are a great complement to any event, as well as helping to ensure a positive future for OHV recreation. Along with the posters, the Adventure Trail Kit includes a couple copies of the activity book, a collage poster of all 10 messages, reproducible copies of the quizzes, and some samples of the NOHVCC ATV and dirtbike temporary tattoos. Additional activity books, collage posters, and tattoos can be obtained from NOHVCC for the cost of shipping. The cost of the Adventure Trail Kit is $20 (the cost of shipping) and can be obtained by contacting the NOHVCC by visiting their website at www.nohvcc.org or by calling (800) 348-6487.

The CD-ROM takes the safety and responsible-riding messages and incorporates them into fun and exciting computer activities.

``Our Adventure Trail poster series and activity books have turned out to be very popular and we get requests for them nearly every day,'' said NOHVCC Executive Director Russ Ehnes. ``For over a year now, folks from throughout the country have been distributing thousands of them at OHV events, trail agencies, and businesses, as well as utilizing them in classroom and organizational youth activities such as 4-H and scouting.

``Because of the many OHV industry sponsors who continue to generously support our Adventure Trail projects, we are able to provide the posters and activity books for the price of shipping and handling only, and that is our plan for this new CD-ROM as well.''

The goal, Ehnes said, is to get the message to as many of the next generation of trail riders as possible to help ensure trail-riding opportunities in the future.

``We feel one of the most effective ways to accomplish that goal is to encourage young riders to develop the habit of always riding in a safe and responsible manner,'' Ehnes said.

The new CD-ROM opens with an introduction from the main character, Rascal the OHV-riding raccoon. The player then follows the Adventure Trail and stops off to hear about things, like always wearing the proper riding gear, staying on the trail, riding the right-sized machine, keeping their OHV's muffler quiet, respecting wildlife, wetlands, and other trail users.

Most of the stops along the Adventure Trail include short video segments and colorful interactive illustrations that contain hidden surprises for wandering cursors.

In addition to the primary Adventure Trail section of the CD-ROM, there's a create-your-own-OHV feature where the player gets to pick the colors and backgrounds of his or her own machine, and can then have them printed out.

There's also a fast-paced trail-riding game where the player gains points for avoiding obstacles and accidents while picking up bonus points for picking up trash along the trail.

Finally, there's a clickable listing of OHV organization resources for weekend trail riders and OHV activists. The Adventure Trail CD-ROMs are available for the cost of shipping and handling from the NOHVCC national headquarters.

Contact NOHVCC at (800) 348-6487 or by e-mail at trailhead@nohvcc.org.

Or you can write to: NOHVCC, 4718 S. Taylor Dr., Sheboygan, WI 53081.

© 2006, All Terrain Vehicle Association