I remember folks in Louisiana, to the tune of about 1-per week circa 1982-1983, were getting killed or seriously hurt when "3-wheelers" were the standard ATV. Back in the day, you could ride three wheelers on the road (at least where I'm from) and they seemed like a lot of fun.

But, just as I was about to sweet talk Mom into one for myself (Well, we had one for a minute, but that was a big, red, Honda- and that was a powerful, throw-your-****-in-a-minute SOB, that I was forbidden to ride (Step-Dad almost killed us both on the first trip)- but that joker would do 35-45 MPH, easy, but it had big-**** soupy/wobbly tires, while everyone else had smaller, harder tires. It was like our 3-wheeler had a lift kit on it.

Anyhoo, soon thereafter, 4-wheelers came out- and just as they did, they were banned from street usage.

But, I would think if you put a decent (good) set of street radials on there, it should be safe. I know those big, pillowy off-road tires will give you road rash in a hurry (on a three wheeler, I've never ridden/driven a 4-wheeler). With gas pushing $4/gallon last year, it had me thinking about a motorcycle. An ATV wouldn't be as much of a learning curve for a cautious guy like me.