In the past several years, I’ve had considerable trouble with all-terrain vehicles terrorizing my neighborhood. I filed several complaints with the sheriff’s department and the game wardens. Unfortunately, they couldn’t help much. I finally had to file a restraining order against the most obnoxious offender.

I’ve spent some time reviewing state laws regulating ATVs and find it’s no wonder that law enforcement is unable to do anything to protect the public from irresponsible individuals.

According to 12 MRSA 13157-A, subparagraph 19, a person may not operate an ATV within 200 feet of a dwelling. This regulation does not exclude dwellings on private roads, but other regulations do.

The problem with this is that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution prohibits denying any citizen equal protection under the law. I know that Washington has a blatant disregard for the Constitution, and apparently so does the state of Maine.

Also be aware that there are no speed limits on private roads in Maine – another example of the state’s total disregard for the safety of its citizens. Speed limits are imposed as a means to protect the public.

A lack of speed limits on private logging roads may be justified in northern Maine, where truckers encounter only an occasional deer or moose, but in southern Maine many private roads, including mine, have dwellings every 100 feet.

The Legislature’s failure to make this distinction is another example of its total disregard for the safety of its citizens. Apparently people who live on private roads in Maine are second-class citizens and not covered by the Constitution.

Gov. LePage is making considerable effort to correct some of the problems created by previous administrations. It might be helpful if the Legislature moved out of the Stone Age and joined the governor in the 21st century.

Richard G. Curran

Shapleigh