On June 17 and 19, a group of Alberta Parks staff who work in the Lac La Biche and Athabasca districts participated in Utility Task Vehicle (UTV) training courses that took place in a field just north of the Bold Centre.
Brad Semeniuk, a provincial fish and wildlife officer who contracts as an instructor through the Lac La Biche County Law Enforcement Training Centre, said most people who take the one-day UTV course do so as a requirement for their work. He added that for average citizens, no formal training is required to operate Off Highway Vehicles (OHVs) in Alberta.
“This course checks the box for employers that they put you through a recognized training program,” he told the Lac La Biche Post newsroom, adding that Alberta Parks staff use utility vehicles daily in their maintenance duties.
The basics
The training component of the course, Semeniuk explained, consists of unloading, loading, basic starting, stopping, as well as turning.
“It slowly builds up skills to quick turns, emergency stops or swerves,” he stated, adding that trainees also learn how to drive over obstacles and make calculated figure-8 turns.
The most recent course, he said, also included an afternoon trail ride to put all of the lessons together, and a hot dog lunch.
Semeniuk teaches both the ATV and UTV safety course that are certified by the Alberta Safety Council as well as the Canada Safety Council. The courses are worthwhile for all levels of riders, especially in a region that boasts remote back-country trails as a mainstay of its tourism programming.
So far this year, he has taught one ATV group and four UTV groups.
