Tips for safe, legal summer fun
By SHARON KERR Staff Writer

Summer means kids out of school spending time outdoors, more tourists and weekenders enjoying East Texas' recreation facilities, and retirees indulging grandkids' vacation whims.

Precinct 5 Constable Gerald McAdams just wants everyone to enjoy a safe summer as well. McAdams' precinct covers most of the Rayburn area, Brookeland and Browndell. Many residences in his area are second homes, vacation rentals, and retirees who don't live here year round.

"We want them to come up here and enjoy themselves, but we hope they use common sense and courtesy to stay safe and be respectful of their neighbors," McAdams said.

With Jasper County Sheriff's deputies spread thin, McAdams is often the one called out to explain that, basically, if you wouldn't do something at home, common sense says you don't do it at the lake, either.

Most problems involve vehicle violations and loud parties late at night.

ATVs and Dirt Bikes

All terrain vehicles (ATVs), also known as three or four wheelers, are not street legal. That includes any public street, road or highway, including the ditches, according to McAdams, and riding the vehicles on private property without permission of the landowner is trespassing.

Dirt bikes with a motor can be street legal if registered and licensed. Some of the smaller mopeds will only do 30 mph and look like toys. McAdams says he sees people allowing children who are too young to have driving skills operate these vehicles. He has seen eight-year-olds turned loose on Rayburn roads.

Adults may not realize these "toys," by state law, require the driver to have a class M drivers license, a helmet and liability insurance, and that constables have wide-ranging authority to enforce and protect, anywhere in the county or state.

"Usually I just give a warning and that's sufficient," McAdams said. "I'm not out here to write tickets or arrest folks, but just because we don't have the traffic and the houses you do in a city doesn't mean you can ride anywhere you want."

To enjoy ATVs, McAdams said people can legally transport their ATVs on a trailer to private land which they have permission to use, such as a deer lease. However, even where it is legal to run the trails, "you still don't let small children operate these vehicles."

McAdams said he's also seen adults riding children perched on bikes and ATVs in an unsafe manner with no helmet or protective gear.

"Parents can be held liable for child endangerment. And it's not just the lakes area, it's a county-wide problem," McAdams said.

Golf carts / Golf course

Golf carts earn a special section in the Texas transportation code. It's legal to drive them from the owner's residence to the golf course for a distance of up to two miles, or further if the ride occurs entirely within a master planned community that meets specific requirements.

McAdams says that still does not mean small children can be turned loose on the roads for fun.

Just recently, he stopped two little boys in a golf cart, "right at dark, no lights, weaving all over the road." McAdams says most people are cooperative when he brings something to their attention. In this case, the father didn't realize the boys were out driving and promised to take care of it.

McAdams says they are also seeing golf carts that have been converted to ATVs.

"Just because you have an easy-go golf cart (that you souped up) doesn't mean it's street legal," McAdams said. The purpose of allowing golf carts on the road is to get the owner from his home to the greens. Technically, it's not even legal to go tooling around to visit neighbors in a golf cart.

Once on the golf course, drivers need to be mindful of course rules and check with the pro shop for special conditions. If the greens are especially wet, they may say "cart-path only" and that means drivers cannot stray on the grass.

The Rayburn golf course is private property, and surrounded by private residences. Golfers need to be clear on the rules, and again, McAdams says common sense and courtesy should always be the guide.

"If you hit your ball off the course and into someone's yard, be respectful," McAdams says. "If you're allowed to drive on the greens that day, park your cart at the boundary markers and don't drive into someone's back yard. If you can see your ball, it's acceptable to most folks if you step in to get it, but it's not okay to go tearing through their landscaping looking for it.

"If they happen to be in their yard, it would be polite to ask permission to come in and get your ball," McAdams said. "That's just being respectful of someone's property, and that applies to any golf course, anywhere there's homes around."

Parties, loud and late

McAdams says weekenders often forget their neighbors may be residents who have to get up and open a business the next day. He knows when he gets a call around 11 p.m. it is usually a party that's gotten out of hand.

"Constables aren't furnished a car. We get a fixed expense, so that's our gas and tires when we have to get up and go," McAdams said. "It's really about courtesy and being respectful. You probably wouldn't have a loud party like that in your Houston neighborhood, for instance. People just need to be reminded this is the same out here and not everyone gets to sleep late tomorrow."

At various times, mostly late on Friday and Saturday nights, McAdams has been called to residential neighborhoods, parks, campgrounds and motel parking lots to quiet the loud music disturbing others. If party-goers fail to heed a warning, they can be arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.

Water fun

McAdams says it's usually the game wardens who enforce boating safety rules, but the same "common sense" rules apply.

"Did you know we can cite people for BWI?" McAdams asked. That's boating while intoxicated, and the consequences of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence can be just as serious on the water as on the roads.

This past Memorial weekend, Nacogdoches Sheriff's deputies arrested Charles Clayton Gilstrap, 24, for intoxicated assault with a vehicle. According to the Marshall News Messenger, Ashton Lamar, 16, of Lufkin was struck by his boat and lost one leg as a result. Her shattered arm has pins in it.

Whether it's a motor boat or jet ski, "safety should be number one," according to McAdams.