Am I Legal?

K

kenspice

Guest
It seems the regulations are different for different areas, states, counties, cities and so on. So, if I have a Wa. drivers license and my car has all the smog goodies that make it legal here in Wa. but not enough to make it legal in Ca., I can still go to ca. and drive it as long as I have an up-to-date Wa. license and am a resident of Wa. Does this follow through with bicycles? In other words, though my bike is legal in my home state, can I ride it in a state where it may not be legal simply because I have a valid drivers license in Wa.? I think this question cannot be answered until the laws are made uniform throughout the states and overridden only in areas with posted signs to the contrary such as NO BIKES ALLOWED ON THIS TRAIL. As with cars, NO MOTOR VEHICLES ALLOWED. Motored bikes will eventually have to either be classified as bicycles or have their own classification throughout the United States. Am I correct?
 
a perfectly valid question
seems logical to me...
but logic and reality don't always seem to go together well in the same sentence :LOL:
 
i wouldnt think that ca. would allow 2 strokers..they pollute more than any 4 stroke vehicle...
 
Not the question, Lou. Some places require a license plate on a bicycle. When I was a kid in Wisconsin I had to register my bicycle and have a plate on it! Anything with an engine required a registration and a plate! Yet, I drove a car to school legally when I was 14. I don't know about the laws there now as I left there 55 years ago. Can I still ride a bicycle with a 49cc engine in places where they are not allowed because I am a Wa. resident with a U.S. passport? Canada for instance? As I said, the laws need to be made uniform as they are with motor vehicles. I have a car with permanent license plates that does not require a smog check but I can drive it anywhere in the world legally except where cars are outlawed because it is registered to me in Wa. I do agree with Bill that logic does not always apply. Someday perhaps? but don't hold your breath...
 
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Well, what I was getting at was that if no bikes are allowed, then a motorized bike wouldn't be allowed, either. If a motorized bike is not classified as a motor vehicle, then it should be allowed where motor vehicles are not allowed. However, you can't have it both ways - i.e. be classified as a motor vehicle in order to ride where bikes aren't allowed, AND be classified as a non-motorized vehicle where motor vehicles are not allowed.

Now, as you said, the laws are not standardized yet in the US. (Or, in Canada, I believe.) I would contact the BC legal offices and ask them that question. THEY are the ones who would give you a ticket, after all...
 
To license, or not?

Hi Kenspice, well, I think with what I've known about different principalities, that your best friend would be a license plate.

WAT? You say? Well amigo IF, like in californica, you are required to plate your bike, when you travel, you are wearing a legal plate from outside, and as far as I can tell, the state you visit is either required, or as a "professional courtesy" will honor the plate from outside.

Example? Well my plate is 18.00 (and PERMANT) and the other state has no right to charge me an apportionment, not any more that if you drive your cheap WA auto plate into CA where we pay 45.00 minimum for a sticker for an old junker.

On "REAL" Trucks, license is "apportioned" along with the trailers from the big-rigs, BUT light passenger vehicles, INCLUDING dualie pickups, and 1-ton vans are not apportioned.

It seems to me that if you live in an unplated state you have a risk going out of state with your bike that is legal at home, BUT a plated bike would be overlooked and exempt from any fees.

IF you have a relative in CA, or another plated state, and you want to travel with your bike, you may want to get a "Travel Plate"

Mike
 
Hi, Mike, I just love my "cheap plates". Mostly because they are cheap. You sound like you are from Berkeley Califoney. Most of the Berkeleites plates are paid for by their daddies anyway...:D
 
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