Senate Bill No. 632
(By Senator Weeks)
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[Introduced February 23, 2004; referred to the Committee on
Transportation; and then to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §17C-24-1 and
§17C-24-2
, all relating to requiring persons who operate
all-terrain vehicles on public property who are under the age
of eighteen years to wear helmets; prohibiting persons under
the age of sixteen from operating all-terrain vehicles with
motors of ninety-one cubic centimeters or greater; prohibiting
passengers on all-terrain vehicles unless a vehicle is made to
accommodate additional passengers pursuant to manufacturer's
recommendations; prohibiting operation of all-terrain vehicles
unless a vehicle is equipped with mufflers and spark
arrestors; providing that counties and municipalities may, by
ordinance, provide stricter or less strict regulation of
operators of all-terrain vehicles;
prohibiting all-terrain
vehicles from operating on paved public roads or highways with certain exceptions; and providing penalties for violations.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new article, designated §17C-24-1 and
§17C-24-2
, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 24. ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES.
§17C-24-1. Regulation of all-terrain vehicles.
All-terrain vehicles, as defined by section one, article one
of this chapter, owned by residents of this state and located
within this state, may not be operated within the state in
violation of any of the following provisions:
(a) A person under the age of eighteen may not operate or ride
on an all-terrain vehicle on public property unless he or she is
wearing a protective helmet of a type approved by the United States
department of transportation.
(b) A person under the age of sixteen may not operate any
all-terrain vehicle having a motor the size of ninety-one cubic
centimeters or greater.
(c) No person may ride as a passenger on an all-terrain
vehicle unless the all-terrain vehicle's manufacturer's prescribed
usage includes the express representation that the vehicle can
safely accommodate a passenger.
(d) No person may operate an all-terrain vehicle on any paved
road or highway in this state unless crossing the road or highway.
(e) No person may operate an all-terrain vehicle on public
property unless equipped with mufflers and spark arrestors.
(f)The provisions of this section do not apply to operators of
all-terrain vehicles involved in farming-related activities, or
operators of all-terrain vehicles
participating in disasters,
disaster recovery efforts or public emergencies, or to operators of
all-terrain vehicles
within twenty miles of a public access to an
all-terrain vehicle attraction, course or park, or to operators
employed by oil, gas or electric utilities.
(g) A county or a municipality may enact ordinances with
stricter or less strict provisions for the regulation of the
operation of all terrain vehicles.
§17C-24-2. Penalties for violations.
Any person violating any of the provisions of section one of
this article is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be subject to the misdemeanor penalties of section
one, article eighteen of this chapter.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to: Require persons who
operate all-terrain vehicles on public property who are under the
age of eighteen years to wear helmets; prohibit persons under the
age of sixteen from operating all-terrain vehicles with motors of
ninety-one cubic centimeters or greater; prohibit passengers on
all-terrain vehicles unless a vehicle is made to accommodate
additional passengers pursuant to manufacturer's recommendations;
prohibit operation of all-terrain vehicles unless a vehicle is
equipped with mufflers and spark arrestors; provide that counties
and municipalities may by ordinance provide stricter or less strict
regulation of all terrain vehicles;
and, prohibit all-terrain vehicles from operating on paved public roads or highways with
exceptions for farm, emergency, disaster, all-terrain vehicle
courses or when operated by employees of public utilities. Under
the bill, misdemeanor penalties are provided for violations.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
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