SEARCH SITE
VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL
- Code of Virginia
- Virginia Administrative Code
- Constitution of Virginia
- Charters
- Authorities
- Compacts
- Uncodified Acts
- RIS Users (account required)
SEARCHABLE DATABASES
- Bills & Resolutions
session legislation - Bill Summaries
session summaries - Reports to the General Assembly
House and Senate documents - Legislative Liaisons
State agency contacts
ACROSS SESSIONS
- Subject Index: Since 1995
- Bills & Resolutions: Since 1994
- Summaries: Since 1994
Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.
2016 SESSION
16104074DBe it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 46.2-915.1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 46.2-915.1. All-terrain vehicles and off-road motorcycles; local regulation; penalty.
A. The governing body of (i) any city, (ii) any town that receives payments for maintaining its own streets pursuant to § 33.2-319, and (iii) any county that has withdrawn from the secondary state highway system pursuant to § 33.-366 may by ordinance regulate the distance an all-terrain vehicle or off-road motorcycle may travel on any such road or street which distance shall not exceed 10 miles if the following conditions are met:
1. Signs, whose design, number, and location are approved by the Department of Transportation, have been posted warning motorists that all-terrain vehicles or off-road motorcycles may be operating on the highway;
2. Such all-terrain vehicles are operated during daylight hours on the highway for no more than one mile between one off-road trail and another;
3. Signs required by this subsection are purchased and installed by the person or club requesting the governing body's approval for such over-the-road operation of all-terrain vehicles or off-road motorcycles;
4. All-terrain vehicles and off-road motorcycle operators shall, when operating on the highway, obey all rules of the road applicable to other motor vehicles;
5. Riders of such all-terrain vehicles shall wear approved helmets;
6. Such all-terrain vehicles shall operate at speeds of no more than 25 miles per hour; and
B. No all-terrain vehicle shall be operated:
1. On any public highway, or other public property, except (i)
as authorized by proper authorities the local governing body pursuant
to subsection A, (ii) to the extent necessary to cross a
public highway by the most direct route, or (iii) by law-enforcement officers,
firefighters, or emergency medical services personnel responding to
emergencies;
2. By any person under the age of 16, except that (i) children between the ages of 12 and 16 may operate all-terrain vehicles powered by engines of no more than 90 cubic centimeters displacement and (ii) children less than 12 years old may operate all-terrain vehicles powered by engines of no more than 70 cubic centimeters displacement;
3. By any person unless he is wearing a protective helmet of a type approved by the Superintendent of State Police for use by motorcycle operators;
4. On another person's property without the written consent of the owner of the property or as explicitly authorized by law; or
5. With a passenger at any time, unless such all-terrain vehicle is designed and equipped to be operated with more than one rider.
B. Notwithstanding
subsection A, all-terrain vehicles may
be operated on the highways in Buchanan County and Tazewell County if the
following conditions are met:
1. Such operation is
approved by action of the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors for operation
along the Pocahontas Trail on Bill Young Mountain and across Virginia Route 635
in Buchanan County and approved by action of the Tazewell County Board of
Supervisors for operation along the Pocahontas Trail in and between the Town of
Pocahontas and Boissevain; across Virginia Routes 644, 663, 659, 627, 734, and
747; within the corporate limits of the Town of Pocahontas in Tazewell County;
and across property of the Virginia Department of Corrections in Tazewell
County, provided that permission is granted for such operation pursuant to §
2.2-1150;
2. Signs, whose design,
number, and location are approved by the Virginia Department of Transportation,
have been posted warning motorists that all-terrain vehicles may be operating
on the highway;
3. Such all-terrain
vehicles are operated during daylight hours on the highway for no more than one
mile between one off-road trail and another;
4. Signs required by this
subsection are purchased and installed by the person or club requesting the
Board of Supervisors' approval for such over-the-road operation of all-terrain
vehicles;
5. All-terrain vehicles
operators shall, when operating on the highway, obey all rules of the road
applicable to other motor vehicles;
6. Riders of such
all-terrain vehicles shall wear approved helmets; and
7. Such all-terrain
vehicles shall operate at speeds of no more than 25 miles per hour.
No provision of this
subsection shall be construed to require all-terrain vehicles operated on a
highway as provided in this subsection to comply with lighting requirements
contained in this title.
C. Any retailer selling any
all-terrain vehicle or off-road motorcycle
shall affix thereto, or verify that there is affixed thereto, a decal or
sticker, approved by the Superintendent of State Police, which clearly and
completely states the prohibition contained in subsection A B.
D. A violation of this section shall not constitute negligence, be considered in mitigation of damages of whatever nature, be admissible in evidence or be the subject of comment by counsel in any action for the recovery of damages arising out of the operation, ownership, or maintenance of an all-terrain vehicle or off-road motorcycle, nor shall anything in this section change any existing law, rule, or procedure pertaining to any such civil action, nor shall this section bar any claim which otherwise exists.
E. Violation of any provision of this section shall be punishable by a civil penalty of not more than $500.
F. The provisions of this section shall not apply:
1. To any all-terrain vehicle being used in conjunction with farming activities; or
2. To members of the household or employees of the owner or lessee of private property on which the all-terrain vehicle is operated.
G. For the purposes of this
section, "all-terrain vehicle" and "off-road
motorcyle" shall have the meaning meanings ascribed in §
46.2-100.