Well i'm not sure of the illegal car thing BUT, in my humble opinion, a four wheel bike is considered a bike. So if a 2 and 3 wheel peddle assist bike is allowed why shouldnt a 4 wheel one be. Since i am now not able to work due to a disability this is a project to give me a hobby and make somthing useful for me. If they give me grief for my "peddle assisted 4 wheel bike" that might be fun too. I have lots of free time on my hands now and playing with city haal could be amusing at worst.
A person in the position to dedicate his/her full time fighting for somthing they believe in is a powerful thing.
I wish you the very best of luck in your endeavors. I, too, am now disabled, and need more than two wheels for a "bike" to be ridable. Like yourself, I've concluded that designing and building my own vehicle is the only way to get what I want/need in such a conveyance.
The biggest single impediment to such is the laws of the various states. Some recognize 2 and 3 wheel "bicycles" as bicycles, unfortunately, Louisiana (where I live) does not so recognize 3 wheeled vehicles. Nor, apparently, does Ohio (except delta trikes). In fact, there isn't much on the forum that I've found by a quick and dirty search thereof, so I hit Google, and found this:
[b[ Ohio Revised Code » TITLE [45] XLV MOTOR VEHICLES -- AERONAUTICS -- WATERCRAFT » CHAPTER 4511: TRAFFIC LAWS -- OPERATION OF MOTOR VEHICLES[/b]
4511.521 Operation of motorized bicycles.
(A) No person shall operate a motorized bicycle upon a highway or any public or private property used by the public for purposes of vehicular travel or parking, unless all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The person is fourteen or fifteen years of age and holds a valid probationary motorized bicycle license issued after the person has passed the test provided for in this section, or the person is sixteen years of age or older and holds either a valid commercial driver’s license issued under Chapter 4506. or a driver’s license issued under Chapter 4507. of the Revised Code or a valid motorized bicycle license issued after the person has passed the test provided for in this section, except that if a person is sixteen years of age, has a valid probationary motorized bicycle license and desires a motorized bicycle license, the person is not required to comply with the testing requirements provided for in this section;
(2) The motorized bicycle is equipped in accordance with the rules adopted under division (B) of this section and is in proper working order;
(3) The person, if under eighteen years of age, is wearing a protective helmet on the person’s head with the chin strap properly fastened and the motorized bicycle is equipped with a rear-view mirror.
(4) The person operates the motorized bicycle when practicable within three feet of the right edge of the roadway obeying all traffic rules applicable to vehicles.
(B) The director of public safety, subject to sections 119.01 to 119.13 of the Revised Code, shall adopt and promulgate rules concerning protective helmets, the equipment of motorized bicycles, and the testing and qualifications of persons who do not hold a valid driver’s or commercial driver’s license. The test shall be as near as practicable to the examination required for a motorcycle operator’s endorsement under section 4507.11 of the Revised Code. The test shall also require the operator to give an actual demonstration of the operator’s ability to operate and control a motorized bicycle by driving one under the supervision of an examining officer.
(C) Every motorized bicycle license expires on the birthday of the applicant in the fourth year after the date it is issued, but in no event shall any motorized bicycle license be issued for a period longer than four years.
(D) No person operating a motorized bicycle shall carry another person upon the motorized bicycle.
(E) The protective helmet and rear-view mirror required by division (A)(3) of this section shall, on and after January 1, 1985, conform with rules adopted by the director under division (B) of this section.
(F) Each probationary motorized bicycle license or motorized bicycle license shall be laminated with a transparent plastic material.
(G) Whoever violates division (A), (D), or (E) of this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.
Effective Date: 01-01-2004
So, a specific license to operate a motorized bicycle is required. You must have a rear view mirror, you must wear a helmet, you may not have a passenger. Go here:
http://codes.ohio.gov/oac/4501-23 for the actual regullations governing required equipment and certifications regarding "motorized bicycles" in Ohio.
Read all of the code, I strongly urge you - the regulations are extremely specific, and unfortunately, there are conflicts between specific chapter sections within the code: e.g. 4501-23-07 Steering, paragraph (C) requires that no portion of the handlebars may be more than 15 inches above the seat or saddle when that seat is fully depressed, whilst 4501-23-10 Seat or saddle requires that "The seat shall be located such that any part of the handlebar is not more than fifteen inches (38.1 centimeters) above that portion of the seat occupied by the operator when the seat is fully depressed."
In effect, the two sections require handlebars of zero thickness.
Especially note that under Ohio law, a bicycle includes and IS LIMITED TO either a two-wheeled tandem vehicle (conventional bike) or a delta tricycle (one front, two rear wheels). Tadpole trikes, or "bike cars" like the Rhoades car, are NOT bicycles under Ohio law.
Also note the following:
4501-23-19 Assembly by person other than manufacturer.
Nothing in these rules and regulations shall prohibit a person other than a manufacturer from constructing, assembling, or equipping a vehicle so as to conform to the specifications of a motorized bicycle. Such person shall, however, comply with all of the rules contained in Chapter 4501-23 of the Administrative Code to the same extent as is necessary of a manufacturer.
All of that said, I wish you the very best of luck, and I envy you enormously the facility to build what you need readily - I can (and have) designed a vehicle compliant with state law here, I know exactly what is needed to build that vehicle, but I live in an upstairs apartment weith zero shop or garage space, and have only hand tools (and only one half of one hand to use them).
In any case, pedallable vehicles are entirely different creatures under most state laws from motorized vehicles, and motorized bicycle codes tend to be extremely hit or miss, requirements wise. Unfortunately, Ohio is very much a "hit" case.
