Motorist protection act and atv's

[bcdudley]

If a biker and a golfer went toe to toe, I would put my money on the biker any day of the week, lol.

[alvins]

If a biker and a golfer went toe to toe, I would put my money on the biker any day of the week, lol.

hey now thats profiling. you saying we bikers are a buncha gansters?

[bcdudley]

Aren't stereotypes fun.

[Ameer]

HB25 (Guillen) and HB77 (Flynn) would extend MPA to watercraft. You could write the legislators to try to get off-road vehicles added to the bills, but IDK if they're going anywhere this year.

[bcdudley]

Very interesting. I think I will write and express my interest in adding ATV's to this bill. I am also going to post on a couple of ATV forums to see if I can get some more support in the form of letter writing. Do you know if there is already an initiative for this?

Would I write to my State Senator or State Representative, or both for this?

[C-dub]

But aren't "dirt bikes" [motorcycles] considered motor vehicles?

I bet only if they're registered with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.

yes but street legal dirtbikes have head lights,turn signals, horn. i dont think their is anyway to make an atv street legal.

Turn signals aren't required. Hand signals must be used instead, but given the number of people that don't use their turn lights I don't know how strict an officer would be on the lack of hand signals. I think all that is required is the headlight, taillight, and horn.

[WildBill]

Very interesting. I think I will write and express my interest in adding ATV's to this bill. I am also going to post on a couple of ATV forums to see if I can get some more support in the form of letter writing. Do you know if there is already an initiative for this?

Would I write to my State Senator or State Representative, or both for this?

Do you realize that by doing this you would have to pay to register your ATV, buy license plates, have annual safety inspections and pay insurance? You could probably also get a ticket for having too many lights on it.

[Ameer]

Very interesting. I think I will write and express my interest in adding ATV's to this bill. I am also going to post on a couple of ATV forums to see if I can get some more support in the form of letter writing. Do you know if there is already an initiative for this?

Would I write to my State Senator or State Representative, or both for this?

Do you realize that by doing this you would have to pay to register your ATV, buy license plates, have annual safety inspections and pay insurance?

I thought he was talking about HB25 (Guillen) or HB77 (Flynn) and I don't think a kyack requires license plates, liability insurance, or annual safety inspections.

[bcdudley]

The biggest thing that is missing is that it has to be titled as a motor vehicle in Texas. Without that, you will get nowhere.

You will also need insurance, turn signals, horn, d.o.t. approved tires and be able to pass inspection. Part of the inspection process for all 96' ( I think it is 96 anyway) and newer vehicles is to connect to the odbii computer for emissions testign. I know for certain that my quad does not have an odbii connector. I have never seen one on an atv either. There is a sensor on the exhaust that the odbii checks, but since ATV's have an open loop system, there is no sensor. Therfore, an ATV cannot pass emissions testing.

As of right now, the only 2 states that will let you legally ride an atv on the street are Arizona and Utah.

As far as where I ride, the roads we ride on are not paved roads. They are caliche rock at best. Many of them are not even passable by anything except an atv or 4wd truck with large tires. While they are county roads on a map, they are not maintained or patrolled. The police in the area don't really care about atv's. We have passed them on a few occasions and they just wave at us. As long as we are not trespassing, drinking or causing problems, they don't bother us. We have even stopped and talked to them on a few occasions as well. The most they have ever said to us is "Stay out of trouble".


I did just write into my State reps and let them know that I support the 2 bills mentioned above as well as posted to a couple of ATV sites I frequent urging people there to write in as well.

[bcdudley]

Do you realize that by doing this you would have to pay to register your ATV, buy license plates, have annual safety inspections and pay insurance?

You would only have to pay if you are going to drive it on a street. Just like if you have a truck that never leaves your farm or is only transported on a trailer does not require a license, neither would an ATV.

[WildBill]

Do you realize that by doing this you would have to pay to register your ATV, buy license plates, have annual safety inspections and pay insurance?

You would only have to pay if you are going to drive it on a street. Just like if you have a truck that never leaves your farm or is only transported on a trailer does not require a license, neither would an ATV.

I was hypothesizing. Politicians are very clever finding ways to tax the citizens. Boats don't drive on streets, but you need to register them and have inspections, etc? Cigarettes and booze don't drive on the streets.

[srothstein]

Is an ATV classified as a motor vehicle in Texas? I think that is the clue to answer your question.
Is it even legal to ride an ATV on a public road?

no and no.

I don't agree that this is quite as clear a legal situation as could be.

The first question is truly the major part. Since motor vehicle is not defined in section 46.02 you need to look further. As I was taught, you first look at the chapter, then the title, then the code, then other codes, etc. In chapter 49, dealing with DWI, motor vehicle is defined by reference to section 32.34. Vehicle is also defined in chapter 30 on burglary of a vehicle, even though motor vehicle is not defined there. Chapter 31 cross references the definition to section 501.002 of the Transportation Code. Many of these definitions differ, but the one in 501.002 specifically includes an ATV designed to be used off road as a motor vehicle.

The Code Construction Act says that a term has its common meaning unless it has come to have a specific meaning in the law. When the legal definitions differ as much as they do in this case, I would think we could use the common definition. Since the common definition would include an ATV as a motor vehicle (my opinion, it could be argued), I would make a strong argument that 46.02 does include an ATV.

Many of the definitions, and the people here, base their interpretation of motor vehicle as something that can be legally driven on a public street (and, BTW, highway does include regular streets when used in the laws - not just what we think of as a highway). So, I thought I would point out that in some cases, an ATV CAN be legally driven on regular streets. In addition to crossing streets while riding, anyone can operate an ATV on the street in conjunction with production or marketing of agricultural products. Also police officers can drive them on the streets in conjunction with their duties.

So, if the question of the application of the MPA revolves around either the definition of a motor vehicle or if the vehicle can be legally driving on the street, I have to say the answer is...not clear enough to be sure. Sorry, but I can see strong arguments that it is included and strong arguments that this was never intended. I would hate to be a test case on this.

[bcdudley]

I did see a post a while back that said in Texas, you could get around not driving on the street by carrying a chainsaw and mounting a triangle orange flag, either on a six foot pole or as a triangle reflector on the back. I never wanted to test it, but again I have never really had a need to.

I wonder if I mounted the flag and put a chainsaw on the back, would that make me legal to carry? Loophole maybe?

It would be an interesting test case, but I don't have the money or the time to be it, but I will start carrying a hatchet. That way if I do for some reason get pulled over, I can have an out.

[alvins]

the main problem is that its titled as an off road vehile and most of those cant be registered.

[tacticool]

Many of these definitions differ, but the one in 501.002 specifically includes an ATV designed to be used off road as a motor vehicle.

TTC 501.002
(14) "Motor vehicle" means:
(A) any motor driven or propelled vehicle required to be registered under the laws of this state;
(B) a trailer or semitrailer, other than manufactured housing, that has a gross vehicle weight that exceeds 4,000 pounds;
(C) a house trailer;
(D) an all-terrain vehicle or a recreational off-highway vehicle, as those terms are defined by Section 502.001, designed by the manufacturer for off-highway use that is not required to be registered under the laws of this state; or
(E) a motorcycle, motor-driven cycle, or moped that is not required to be registered under the laws of this state, other than a motorcycle, motor-driven cycle, or moped designed for and used exclusively on a golf course.

TTC 502.001
(1) "All-terrain vehicle" means a motor vehicle that is:
(13) "Motor vehicle" means a vehicle that is self-propelled.
(24) "Vehicle" means a device in or by which a person or property is or may be transported or drawn on a public highway, other than a device used exclusively on stationary rails or tracks.



After reading that, the only thing I'm sure of is I wouldn't want to have to try to convince a jury that MPA allows me to carry on an ATV (on land I don't own/control without a CHL) because my layman's interpretation of the law is more correct than the interpretation of the prosecutor, who has presumably graduated law school and passed the bar exam.