Va. Code § 46.2-915.1 All-Terrain Vehicles and Off-Road Motorcycles; Penalty

• Library: Virginia Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current with changes from the 2023 Special Legislative Session
• Year: 2023
• Citation: Va. Code § 46.2-915.1

A. No all-terrain vehicle shall be operated:

1. On any public highway, or other public property, except (i) as authorized by proper authorities, (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;