COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 567
(By Senators Kessler, Hunter, Foster, Jenkins, Unger and Plymale)
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[Originating in the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure; reported February 14, 2008.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §17F-1-1, §17F-1-3, §17F-1-7 and §17F-
1-9 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all
relating to the regulation of all-terrain vehicles;
prohibiting operation on paved roads; and providing for
regulation of all-terrain vehicles by local government
authorities.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §17F-1-1 §17F-1-3, §17F-1-7 and §17F-1-9 of the Code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. REGULATION OF ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES.
§17F-1-1. Acts prohibited by operator; penalties for violations.
(a)
No Operation of an all-terrain vehicle
may be operated in
this state is prohibited:
(1) On any interstate highway
, except by public safety
personnel responding to emergencies;
(2) On any
paved road
or highway, with a center line or more
than two lanes except for the purpose of crossing the
paved road,
street or highway, if:
(A) The crossing is made at an angle of approximately ninety
degrees to the direction of the
highway paved road and at a place
where no obstruction prevents a quick and safe crossing;
(B) The vehicle is brought to a complete stop before crossing
the shoulder or main traveled way of the
highway paved road;
(C) The operator yields his or her right-of-way to all
oncoming traffic that constitutes an immediate potential hazard;
and
(D) Both the headlight and taillight are illuminated when the
crossing is made
, if the vehicle is so equipped;
(3) With more than one passenger unless more passengers are
allowed under manufacturers' recommendations;
(4) With a passenger under the age of eighteen, unless the
operator has at a minimum a level two intermediate driver's license
or its equivalent or is eighteen years of age or older;
(5) Unless riders under the age of eighteen are wearing size
appropriate protective helmets that meet the current performance
specifications established by the American national standards
institute standard, z 90.1, the United States Department of
Transportation Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard no. 218 or
Snell safety standards for protective headgear for vehicle users;
(6) Anytime from sunset to sunrise without an illuminated
headlight or lights and taillights;
(7) Without a manufacturer-installed or equivalent spark
arrester and a manufacturer-installed or equivalent muffler in
proper working order and properly connected to the vehicle's
exhaust system; or
(8) Unless operating in compliance with the provisions of
section two of this article.
(b) An all-terrain vehicle may, for the sole purpose of
getting moving from one trail, field or area of operation to
another, be operated upon the shoulder of
a paved road, any road,
street or highway referred to in subdivision (2), subsection (a) of
this section, other than an interstate highway
,: Provided, That
where the shoulder of the paved road is too narrow or is
nonexistent, so as to prevent an all-terrain vehicle from being
operated wholly off the paved surface of the road, the operator
shall bear to the far right of the paved road and any existing
shoulder, to the extent that the circumstances safely permit, for
a distance not to exceed ten miles, if:
(1)
The distance to be traveled on the paved road does not
exceed ten miles; and
(2) The
all-terrain vehicle is operated at speeds of twenty-
five miles per hour or less; and
(2) (3) The
all-terrain vehicle is operated at any time from
sunset to sunrise,
and the all-terrain vehicle
must be is equipped
with headlights and taillights
, which
shall be are illuminated.
(c) Operation of an all-terrain vehicle in accordance with
subsection (b) shall not constitute operation of a motor vehicle on a
paved road
or highway of this state as contemplated by the
provisions of section seven of this article.
(d) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the
contrary, a municipality, county or other political subdivision of
the state may authorize the operation of all-terrain vehicles on
certain specified
roads, streets or highways which are marked with
centerline pavement markings, paved roads or unpaved roads, other
than interstate highways, to allow participation in parades,
exhibitions and other special events, in emergencies or for
specified purposes.
§17F-1-3. Local government authority to regulate.
Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the contrary:
(1) The governing body of a municipality may
allow and
regulate in any manner or prohibit, by lawfully enacted ordinance,
the operation of all-terrain vehicles upon any
street, road or
avenue paved roads or unpaved roads, within the municipal corporate
limits.
(2) Homeowner associations may petition the county commission
of the county in which the area regulated by the homeowner
association is located for an ordinance to regulate or prohibit the
operation of all-terrain vehicles upon any street, road or avenue
within the area regulated by the homeowner association. County
commissions are hereby authorized, upon receipt of a petition
authorized by the provisions of this section, to enact an ordinance
regulating or prohibiting the operation of all-terrain vehicles.
(3) The county commission of any county
which has in effect and is operating under a countywide comprehensive plan may by
lawfully enacted ordinance
allow and regulate or prohibit the
operation of all-terrain vehicles on any
paved road or
unpaved road
in the county, except interstate highways:
Provided, That any
county which enacts any such ordinance shall notify the
Division of
Motor Vehicles, the Governor's Highway Safety Program and the West
Virginia State Police and all law-enforcement agencies in the
county of its action in writing, together with a copy of the
ordinance.
§17F-1-7. Applicability of rules of operation.
(a) Every person operating an all-terrain vehicle upon a
public road or highway paved road or unpaved road of this state
shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of
a vehicle by the provisions of chapter seventeen-c of this code
except where inconsistent with the provisions of this article and
except as to those provisions of chapter seventeen-c of this code
which by their nature can have no application.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this
section, a motor vehicle operator's license is not required of an
operator of an all-terrain vehicle when he or she is operating said
vehicle in conformity with the provisions of subdivision (2),
subsection (a) or subsection (b), section one of this chapter
except when the operator is under the age of eighteen and is
transporting a passenger under the age of eighteen.
§17F-1-9. Definitions.
For the purposes of this article, the words or terms defined in this section, and any variation of those words or terms required
by the context, have the meanings ascribed to them in this section.
These definitions are applicable unless a different meaning clearly
appears from the context.
As used in this chapter, (1) "
all-terrain All-terrain vehicle"
or "ATV"
shall mean means any motor vehicle, fifty-two inches or
less in width, having an unladen weight of eight hundred pounds or
less, traveling on three or more low pressure tires with a seat
designed to be straddled by the rider, designed for or capable of
travel over unimproved terrain.
(2) "Paved road" means a prepared land route principally
intended for the movement of motor vehicles from one location to
another, having been covered with a hard smooth surface material,
including, but not limited to, concrete, asphalt, stone, brick,
macadam or tarmacadam.
(3) "Unpaved road" means a prepared land route, principally
intended for the movement of motor vehicles from one location to
another, having a loose surface material, including, but not
limited to, gravel or other aggregates, soil or clay.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to impose regulations on the
use and operation of all-terrain vehicles. The bill prohibits
operation on paved roads and provides for regulation of all-terrain
vehicles by local government authorities.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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