indiana moped law. help!

[bluegoatwoods]

Sorry, I don't mean to be rubbing your nose in it. In fact, what I'm trying to do is leave a warning for other youngsters (or not-so-youngsters) who might read this thread in the future. Maybe they can learn from your mistake and mis-fortune. For that matter, I'm gonna keep it in mind myself.

And Sparky is absolutely correct when he points out that the cop was looking out for your safety. He wasn't being pure evil. If your friend's foot had slipped off the pegs, he might have fallen right into the path of a car. (Not likely? You're probably right. But it's a chance that one shouldn't take anyway.)
You might have fallen into the path of a car, too. And what if it didn't kill you?
What if it left you paralyzed and maimed for life?
And what about the cager who goes on to live with the knowledge that he ran over a couple of people. I haven't come up with the proof, yet, that the cagers are 100% pure evil, so we have to give him the benefit of the doubt and figure he'd feel pretty bad about it.

So, in that sense, the cop was right.

Once again, this is more for the record than for you. You've already thought of these things, I'll bet.

And I meant it when I said that your posts have been good. I've seen some interesting stuff from you. So stick around. Be bummed out for a while. I doubt if you can avoid that. But come back with your bikes. And maybe this will help you gain some of that motor-assisted-bicycle-wisdom sooner than the rest of us.

 

[HoughMade]

All I can say is that you are right on the law. Policemen are not lawyers. They are taught the law, but they have not memorized all of it. Heck, I haven't memorized all of it- no one has. That being said- simply being ticketed can cause problems even if you can successfully defend against it- you may have trouble with the 2hp issue.

I think the best thing is to ride smart, stay away from busy streets and try not to be noticed.

I hate to say it, but the same officer may not have even bothered with me, not only because I would never have a second person, but because I'm 37 years old- call it discrimination if you want, but 37 year old guys don't draw police attention like teenagers.

 

[eltatertoto]

well, thanks for all the input, espically houghmade, (being a local)+lawyer i drained the gas from both bikes, threw away the yellow bike from the what is this vids, and replaced it with the blue bike. at my grandmas about 10-15 mi away, in portage. pending the reply from the cops, the stingray is going to my other grandparents, in hobart, and im taking the chinese engine off, and using the new schwinn as my ride to school. thanks for all yr guys' help.

 

[Tom]

I always try to follow all laws just because i want to be respectful of the legality of these things. I have never had a cop question my bike, but if they started to pester me, I think I would grab a DMV handbook and pull that out anytime they pestered me. You can't give up just because of one bent cop.

 

[eltatertoto]

yes, but to tell ya the truth (i think alot of the guys here will agree) id prefer it sit in a garage, then have it impounded sitting out in the rain, getting all rusty and nasty, and possibly ridden.

 

[eltatertoto]

oh, and to ride like a boyscout thing, other than tote a friend that ONE time, i have been . i always signal, stop for lights, full complete stops, get to the far right, and signal a car to pass me, the works. and i NEVER rode past dusk. not even once.

 

[bluegoatwoods]

oh, and to ride like a boyscout thing, other than tote a friend that ONE time, i have been . i always signal, stop for lights, full complete stops, get to the far right, and signal a car to pass me, the works. and i NEVER rode past dusk. not even once.

Have I offended you? Sorry, but that's not what I was trying to do. You asked "what should I do?" and this is what I had to offer. If I think of anything else, I'll offer that. It will always be meant to help, not to insult.

Here's a scenario that might be good for us all to consider;

you're pulled over by a cop who says, "That is an unregistered and illegal moped." we say, "No. I believe you're mistaken. This is merely a bicycle."
The cop says, "Here's your citation."

We think, "Nope. I'm fighting this one."

We go before a judge and argue that this is nothing more than a bicycle.
Maybe he agrees. But maybe he says, "No. That is a moped. You must register it as such."

Our answer is, "But the secretary of state simply won't register this bike."

And his answer is, "Then this is a motor vehicle that is not suited for use on a public road."

At this point we're done for. At least until we get out of that jurisdiction or talk our city council (or perhaps state legislature) into passing a law that expressly permits these bikes on the road.

Is this far-fetched? If the answer is yes, I'd be glad to know it.
But it seems like a real possibility to me. And one to be feared.

 

[eltatertoto]

no offence taken, if i said it as such, im sorry. im just kinda frusterated right now...

 

[bluegoatwoods]

Being frustrated is understandable. When I think of anyone (even cops, who I mostly like and respect) pointing at you or me or anyone here and saying,

"You can't do that!"

it really sticks in my craw.

And maybe I'm over-pessimistic; maybe there aren't as many people as I think who are just looking for that chance to stick it to us.

I've mentioned (perhaps others have, too) that I think high fuel prices will force society to accept things like motor assisted bicycles. But it's not a done deal yet. I wish I could figure out a way to cram it down their throats.
(That might have sounded angry. Not what I meant. Was almost a joke

 

[loquin]

I can understand the frustration.

But, since you've been operating 'outside' the law, before you're able to get a license to operate a moped, you're in the wrong, no matter what. Suppose you pulled out a copy of the statute and educated him, he could then have ticketed you for underage operation of a moped.

Ideally, Indiana would pass legislation allowing motorized bicycles to be operated without license/registration. However, many of the states which allow motorized bikes to run without insurance & registration have a minimum operator age, typically, 15 years old.