Daytona Beach, FL – Those who own trucks with lift kits or like to gather on the beach with fellow vehicle enthusiasts might have a harder time getting on Volusia’s beaches in the future.
County staff is researching possible new regulations which would ban raised vehicles – especially pick-up trucks with oversized tires – from getting on the sand and also restrict vehicle clubs that like to gather by the hundreds on the beach.
Any such regulations would have to be passed by the Volusia County Council before going into effect and there’s no set timetable for bringing either matter in front of the VCC at this time, according to Volusia County spokesman Dave Byron.
Having said that, Byron says the lift kits are posing a safety issue and a possible beach ban on “monster trucks” is something that the county is currently looking into to see if it could be legally enforced.
“They take up a great deal of space,” Byron added. “They’re higher and more difficult to see people.”
Regular pick-up trucks wouldn’t be part of the proposed ban, but Byron says vehicles that are higher to the ground – as most trucks are compared to other vehicles – is something that Volusia County Beach Safety has consciously avoided in recent years when adding to their fleet.
“The smaller the vehicle, the easier it is to see people, to hear people and, of course, to prevent an accident,” Byron stated.
It was a VCBS Ford F-150 – then known as Volusia County Beach Patrol – which ran over a Kansas tourist sunbathing in Daytona Beach Shores in 2011. Erin Joynt’s $2.6 million award from a jury in that case is currently being appealed by the county.
Byron says a recent rally of “monster trucks” in New Smyrna Beach led to complaints from residents about those kinds of vehicles being on the beach and that’s what sparked county staff to do research on a possible ban.
It’s not just the height or the width of the vehicle that’s the issue, though. Byron says a lot of vehicle clubs like to gather by the hundreds on the beach and that’s posing traffic management issues even when the events are permitted.
“They don’t want to come on Tuesday or Wednesday,” Byron noted. “They want to come on Saturday or Sunday when the beach is most crowded.”
Byron made it clear that there are no plans right now to ban large vehicle-type gatherings like Jeep Beach, but did admit that the county does plan to re-consider how to handle these kinds of events moving forward because those kinds of events take up a lot of space on the beach and can get a “bit rowdy” sometimes.
“They always want to park in the middle of the beach between the sand and the tide line,” Byron said. “It’s difficult to accommodate these types of groups.”
The details of these possible regulations would need to be worked out before it comes in front of the VCC for a vote.
Copyright 2015 Southern Stone Communications.