The conflicts between Hawai'i County police and ATV riders are heating up, with an announcement last week that Puna police have begun impounding off-road vehicles when issuing citations to individuals who illegally ride them on public roads.

Community Police Officer John Briski said officers used to cite the operators under the section of the law that prohibits unlicensed vehicles on public roads. Under the same law, police are now impounding the vehicles and holding them as evidence until the cases go to court, according to a news release issued by the department Friday.

Off-road vehicles are illegal even on private subdivision roads, which are considered public because they are open to the public.

Police impounded seven vehicles from the Hawaiian Paradise Park, Orchidland and Hawaiian Beaches subdivisions between Aug. 26 and Sept. 3. Those included four all-terrain vehicles, one go-cart, a pipe buggy and a dirt bike, police said.

Police said they plan to continue the practice indefinitely because of the danger the vehicles pose to their operators and others.

Two people died in August while illegally riding off-road vehicles in Puna, the 10th and 11th ATV-related deaths in Hawai'i in the past four years, according to state officials. House Judiciary Chairwoman Sylvia Luke lauded the Big Island police efforts and said they are doing the right thing to ensure public safety.

"There are certain motor vehicles that shouldn't be on the road, and that's why we have safety laws. And if that is the approach the Big Island police are taking to ensure the safety of the people in the county, I would support that," she said. "It is pretty dangerous; ATVs should not be on the road at all. Driving is a certain right and privilege, and everyone on the road should abide by the rules of the road. It's an issue of safety."

ATV enthusiasts support the department's decision but lament the fact that there are few venues in the state that allow riders to ride legally. All say the state needs to do more to provide legal spaces for ATV riders, especially in a state where outdoor activities are popular.

"I think (the police department's enforcement) is a great idea, said Dan Walton, owner of Kona Suzuki Motor sports. "If they don't enforce the law, someone is going to get hurt, kids especially. When we ride (Walton and his kids), we don't ride our bikes on the street; I'm dead set against it. They have to enforce the law, and it probably ends up saving some lives. We need places to ride. Really there is no legal place to ride them in the state of Hawai'i except for tracks, and we're lacking in that."

Ireneo Castillo, a 33-year-old ATV enthusiast who lives in Waialua, lost two friends in separate ATV accidents several years ago and supports strict enforcement of existing laws.

"There is not really a place to ride, but if you're caught riding on the road I would see why you would confiscate it," he said.

ATV-related deaths and injuries have been rising nationally since 1997, according to a report published by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

From 1982 through 2004, there were 6,494 ATV-related deaths nationally, including 2,019, or 31 percent, that involved children under age 16.

There were 52,800 ATV-related injuries in 1997, and the number rose each year after that, until hitting a 22-year high in 2004 with 136,100 injuries, 44,700 of which involved children under age 16.

In 1980, there were 2.9 million ATVs in use, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council, a number that has increased to 6.9 million, according to the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.