Restrictions on ATVs to be eased, as minister calls ban ‘absurd’
Greece’s Transport Ministry plans to ease restrictions on the use of all-terrain vehicles introduced by the previous administration.
Prompted by a hike in accidents and fatalities, the Transport Ministry last year imposed an all-out ban on the use of ATVs on asphalt roads, sparking protests from bike rental shop owners, mostly on popular holiday islands like Crete, Rhodes and Zakynthos.
Deputy Transport Minister Yiannis Kefaloyiannis recently said that the ban on quad bikes up to 125cc was “absurd.”
“We are talking about vehicles that are approved by current EU legislation, have vehicle registrations and pay annual road tax,” he said. He added that under the highway code, local authorities will still be able to limit where these vehicles can be driven.
Experts say that the four-wheeled motorcycles tend to tip over when moving at speed, or traveling up hills or on uneven ground. There some 25,000 licenses for quad bikes in Greece.
