Defenders of increasing ATV roads on public land frequently claim that most ATV riders are responsible and do not damage the landscape.  They say there are just a few “bad apples” who give the rest a bad name.  

A 2006 survey of registered OHV owners by Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks gives a quantitative measure of the number of "bad apples" in Montana.

Montana ATV riders' own responses to the survey show that at least 16% to 23% are “bad apples”. Since there were 52,847 registered OHV owners in Montana on 10/12/07, this means there are at least 8,600 to 12,300 bad apples in Montana. Yellowstone and Carbon Counties had 5,015 and 725 registered OHV owners respectively and thus 930 to 1340 bad apples.

Excerpt from Survey:

"OHV users should closely follow all trail, road, and area restrictions that are put in place to protect natural resources, wildlife, and provide non-motorized opportunities." 

76.6 % always follow this guideline,
23.4 %  only sometimes or never follow this guideline

It is well known that in surveys like this people under report their bad behavior. They certainly do not over report it. So the results should be interpreted as a minimum measure of bad behavior. Also there is good reason to suspect that “bad apples” were less likely to respond to the mail survey and are therefore underrepresented skewing the results in favor of good behavior.

This survey was sent to a random sample of 950 registered OHV owners in Montana.  Responses were received from 47% or 447.  That is a good response rate for voluntary surveys.  96.1 % of respondents said they rode ATVs or 4-wheelers.  19.6 % said they rode motorcycles.

More Excerpts from the Survey:

"To help reduce noise, OHV users should avoid excessive speeds and unnecessary throttling while riding on trails."