Zach Robinson

English 2010
Professor Courtney
October 19, 2015
Skateboarding Laws
In the past few years there have been several changes to the laws regarding
skateboarding and longboarding. Some believe that longboarding is a dangerous
recreational activity that should be outlawed on local roads and places such as the
University of Utah campus. There are many aspects here in Utah that would draw a
longboarders attention, such as the continuous hills that flow in the foothills as well as the
avenues, but also the amazing pavement on canyon roads such as East Canyon and
Squaw Peak. Longboarders are perceived to be under the same category as skateboarders,
when in reality the two sports are completely different, although they do share some
similarities. One of longboarding and skateboarding similarities is that they have 4
wheels that are mounted onto a board by trucks. Other than that, the two couldnt be more
different. Which brings me to my argument that skateboarding laws and rules should not
apply to that of longboarding, and that laws should be created differently for
skateboarders and longboarders.
The University of Utah campus was one of the most popular spots for
longboarders to take runs on, until recently that is. Just this past summer there was a new
law passed saying that it is illegal to ride a skateboard, roller blades, or a bike on campus
if you are not a student attending the University. Law officials as well as students say
that this law was written because those who skate the campus make in unsafe for
pedestrians. I know however that there are rarely and skateboarders on campus, mostly
longboarders. Most people dont know that longboarders can maneuver easier and faster
than that of a skateboard, as well as having the ability to stop if needed by sliding, either
with gloves or just doing a standy slide. I have longboarded on the campus before and
received numerous tickets from police as well as campus security. The only issue there is
concerning pedestrian safety is for those who are not paying attention to where they are
walking. Now a day when students are walking to their different classes, their eyes are
glued to their phones or other electronic devices and only looking up occasionally to
make sure that they dont run into a tree. If a pedestrian walks in front of a longboarder
without giving the boarder enough time to stop because the pedestrian isnt paying
attention, I see that as the pedestrians fault for not paying attention, not the longboarders.
Others may see this differently and say that it is the longboarder who should be at fault
due to the fact that pedestrians have the right of way in most situations, but if a pedestrian
ignorantly walks in front of you driving your car going 30 mph, how are you expected to
stop in time if they are the ones not paying attention?
Another argument I want to present is the tickets that are given to longboarders on
canyon roads. I myself have received a ticket from a cop while longboarding safely down
Millcreek Canyon. When I say safely I mean that I was in full body leathers (designed
specifically for me because I am a sponsored longboarder), a full-faced helmet, sliding
gloves, and Nike skating shoes. I stayed in the right lane the entire time, flowing with
traffic, and I was in a pack of 4 riders to make us easier to see. Anyways, the cop pulled
us over at the end of the run and wrote us tickets under the category of Misuse of
Recreational Equipment and had to go to court for it. I was the only one in the group

who wanted to fight the charge, and in order to fight the ticket correctly I had to do
research on the ticket I was given. Research such as how many tickets were given under
that specific code/name, how frequently they were given, and by how many cops the
tickets were given by. In doing this research I found out that there had only been 6
tickets given under that specific category and they were all written by one police officer,
and all but one of the tickets were given to longboarders. The other ticket was given to a
street luger. Unfortunately I lost in court, but I made good points to the judge that there
needs to be laws specifically made for longboarders, because what exactly is categorized
as Misuse of Recreational Equipment? In my opinion, people biking on canyon roads
with only two lanes and no designated bike lane is misuse of recreational activity, and so
are those people that do cross country skiing practice in the summer with roller blades. A
lot of people dont know that longboarders can go faster than a car down canyon roads,
well any road really, and we can stop just as fast as any car can. Also it is really easy to
maneuver around obstacles or rocks in the road, because even the smallest pebble can
throw off the balance of the rider and cause them to fall. Longboarders, well the ones
that I board with, are smart about longboarding and we are always cautious of our
surroundings especially knowing that we arent seen as easily as a car is.
Longboarding is all about safety, and making sure that one knows how to stop at
the drop of a hat as well as knowing how to fall if it is to happen. All of the professional
longboarders here in Utah know how to stop fast and fall correctly. We can hit speeds up
to 60 mph on some canyon roads here, and we must know how to take turns, stay in a
pack of boarders so we are easily seen, and stop at the end of the run while staying in the
correct lane the whole time. There has been a few times unfortunately on Squaw Peak in
Provo, Utah where a two of my close friends have been hit by cars. Every time the
boarder is in the correct lane, but hugging a corner on the line, and a car comes around
the corner in the opposite direction of the boarder, out of their lane, and hits the
longboarder. Both times the cops have ruled it as the longboarders fault because they are
breaking the law by skating the road, even though there are no laws stating that the
specific road is illegal to longboard or skate, nor are there signs posted on the road. If it
is illegal for skaters I feel like it should also be illegal for bikers, seeing as they are more
likely to cause an accident around a corner while riding up the road then a longboarder is
going down the road. The reason for that is because longboarders go faster than cars, and
cars never need to pass the longboarder and for bikers, the car has to pass it going up
because no car is going to sit behind a biker going 5 mph up the road the whole entire
way.
Here in the United States there are hundreds of races held every year for
longboarder, sponsored or not. The biggest races are held by the IDF, which is the
International Downhill Federation, and it holds races all over the world for longboarders
and street lugers. During these races the streets are closed to traffic for a couple of days,
or during the races, after every heat of boarders and lugers have gone, they shuttle the
boarders back up to the top and allow traffic to flow for 20 minutes or so and then they
stop traffic again and continue with the race heats. Not that this has anything to do with
changing the laws here in Utah, but I feel that if people became more aware of the sport
that they would be more open to it and allowing us to be on the roads. According to the
laws here in Utah it is illegal to skateboard on the road and the sidewalk, so where

exactly are skaters supposed to skate? Just at skate parks? Nonetheless, longboarders
have more control than skateboarders and they can go at faster speeds, with traffic.
All in all I feel that there need to be laws put in place for longboarders specifically
because the laws for skateboarders dont really apply to longboarders. The two sports are
completely different from each other and therefore they should have separate laws. It
seems unfair to have skating laws apply to longboarders because the only thing that
longboarders ruin is the wheels on the board by shedding urethane, which is the material
that the wheels are made of. Skateboarders grind on rails, jump over steps, and skate on
things that shouldnt. Its understandable why there are laws for skateboarders, so that
they dont ruin the things in society, but longboarders arent ruining anything. We are
just trying to have fun.

Work Cited
Tanner, Courtney. "Skaters May Now Get Extreme Tickets at University of Utah
Campus."Salt Lake City Weekly. 21 June 2012. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.cityweekly.net/TheDailyFeed/archives/2013/06/21/skaters-may-now-get-extremetickets-at-university-of-utah-campus>.
Whitehurst, Lindsay. "University of Utah Weighing Skateboard Ban." Utah Local News. 9 May
2013. Web. 5 Nov. 2014. <http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56274364-78/campus-policepolicy-university.html.csp>.
"Utah Department of Administrative Services Division of Administrative Rules." UT Admin
Code R805-1. Operating Regulations for Bicycles, Skateboards, Rollerskates and Scooters
(Non-Motorized Riding Devices). October 1, 2014. 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.rules.utah.gov/publicat/code/r805/r805-001.htm>.
Simpson, Kerry. "Utah The Best Place in the World for Longboarding?" Salty Peaks. 8 July
2012. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.