Senate Bill No. 489
(By Senators Kimble and Buckalew)
____________
[Introduced March 24, 1997; referred to the Committee
on Transportation.]
____________
A BILL to amend article fourteen, chapter seventeen-c of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
fourteen, relating to prohibiting the operation of all- terrain vehicles on publicly maintained streets or highways
except during a state of emergency; penalties; and pursuit
of violator by police officer on private lands.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article fourteen, chapter seventeen-c of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
fourteen, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 14. MISCELLANEOUS RULES.
§17C-14-14. Operating all-terrain vehicles on public highways prohibited.
(a) It is unlawful to operate on a publicly maintained
street or highway an all-terrain vehicle (ATV), as defined in
section one, article one, chapter seventeen-a of this code, or
other such motorized vehicle intended only for off-the-road
recreational use, except in a declared state of emergency when it
is necessary to operate an all-terrain vehicle or other such
vehicle on a publicly maintained street or highway in furtherance
of emergency relief efforts.
(b) Any person violating the provisions of this section is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined or imprisoned, or both fined and imprisoned, pursuant to
the provisions of section one, article eighteen of this chapter.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a
municipal, county or state police officer may enter upon private
lands while in pursuit of an all-terrain vehicle or other such
vehicle violating the provisions of this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit the operation
of all-terrain vehicles on publicly maintained streets or
highways, except during a state of emergency.
Section fourteen is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.