O.K. to ride in Colorado

I will certainly post the motor vehicle hearing officer's summary. Right now all I have is a badly faxed copy.

I am also working with senator hudak to get a clarification amended to the Colorado laws so that no one else has their bicycles towed on a flat bed trailer for being misclassified as a motor vehicle. Lawsuit time.

good work .. glad ya won
I'm still amazed at how similar the laws regarding motorized bikes are around the world .
but you have to remember , these stupid laws were writen by people who live off of tax payer dollars ( if anyone wants to believe these laws were writen in the intrest of public safety ... then go ahead .. believe what you want )

If they make it illegal for you to drive something for free , then they guarantee themselves revenue from licencing , taxes , etc .

Take money out of the equation and then see how mant laws would matter .

Thats the way i see it anyways .

Mshugge said:

UPDATE! Motor vehicle hearing was conducted to review the charges that this vehicle was a low power scooter. Evidence pressnted included description of bicycle, that it has pedals, is not self powered (bike must be in motion to engage motor assist), and was not designed for primary use on roadway. Also had letter of confirmation of vehicle classification from Motor vehicle title & registration, AND from Colorado state transportation committee. Our lawyer said he had never 100% won a motor vehicle hearing.

RESULTS: we won!! All driving charges dismissed for a "motor vehicle". Ruling primarily based on FACT that Colorado removed the word SOLELY from definition 10 of bicycle, opening up path for not only electric assist bicycles but also gas assist bicycles.

Still have to face criminal charge because these are two separate courts - but this should now be piece of cake. Especially since over aggressive police officer who had arrested my son admitted he never read him his rights.

Click to expand...

Thats GREAT news for you and the rest of us. Thanks for posting and please keep us updated.

that is wonderful news...glad to hear it....but yes please post up some of the pertanent info on it please...it would be nice to have that kind of document on hand for when a situation arises

Mshugge said:

UPDATE! Motor vehicle hearing was conducted to review the charges that this vehicle was a low power scooter. Evidence pressnted included description of bicycle, that it has pedals, is not self powered (bike must be in motion to engage motor assist), and was not designed for primary use on roadway. Also had letter of confirmation of vehicle classification from Motor vehicle title & registration, AND from Colorado state transportation committee. Our lawyer said he had never 100% won a motor vehicle hearing.

RESULTS: we won!! All driving charges dismissed for a "motor vehicle". Ruling primarily based on FACT that Colorado removed the word SOLELY from definition 10 of bicycle, opening up path for not only electric assist bicycles but also gas assist bicycles.

Still have to face criminal charge because these are two separate courts - but this should now be piece of cake. Especially since over aggressive police officer who had arrested my son admitted he never read him his rights.

Click to expand...

Well deserved congratulations. You bet they'll toss the other ticket out now. Everyone in the future should be able to beat this ticket without a lawyer, thanks to you.

You want to bet that Jefferson County throws out any ticket?? They still want us to take a plea bargain ... even after we won the Motor Vehicle hearing AND the officer admitted in the hearing that he did not give my son his Miranda rights.

I hope you sue there pants off!

As promised to the motorized bicycle riders on this website, the case number for our win in Motor Vehicle was Somma Case Number 11-285467 versus DMV. I wanted to post it to the website, but the PDF size exceeds this websites allowed attachment. Any suggestions on how to post this?

As promised to the motorized bicycle riders on this website, the case number for our win in Motor Vehicle was Somma Case Number 11-285467 versus DMV. I wanted to post it to the website, but the PDF size exceeds this websites allowed attachment. Any suggestions on how to post this? Here are some important details referenced by the Hearing Officer:

The hearing officer concluded that the vehicle operated was a gas engine assisted bicycle, as the word "solely" was removed from the CRS 42-1-102 (10) definition. By removing the word solely, the legislature has created a class of bicycle that could be propelled, in part, by something other than human power.

As (we) demonstrated that the vehicle was not self-propelled and must be set in motion by human power, the vehicle did not fit into the classification of a Motor Vehicle or Low Powered Scooter as those terms are defined in 42-2-102.

____________________

Additionally, my son was charged by the police as being intoxicated and refused to provide a breathalyzer test or blood sample. We are positive he was not intoxicated. As noted by Department of Motor Vehicle, CRS 42-4-1301.1 for Expressed Consent was made specific to motor vehicles. (Any person who drives any motor vehicle upon the streets and highways and elsewhere throughout this state shall be deemed to have expressed such person's consent to the provisions of this section.) Therefore, the Colorado Express Consent requirement does NOT apply to bicycles.

So why are we still fighting this in court???? Oh, that's right. Because the officer "SAID" my son was intoxicated. Therefore it's his word against my son's. And no breathalyzer or blood test is needed. Therefore Jefferson County court can try to get you to take a Plea Bargain for a DWAI. Thanks, Scott Storey, for wasting the tax payers money. So we are still fighting this and refusing their idiot plea bargain. The vehicle was a BICYCLE. The reason for pulling him over by the over agressive hyper officers in Lakeside/Mountain View was because they knew my son didn't have a license and they were going to charge him with felony driving. Then, when he smelled like a beer (we had ONE beer with him about one hour earlier), they can claim he was intoxicated. They towed the bicycle. They arrested my son, who then had 3 epileptic seizures due to the stress. They claimed he refused a breathalyzer test due to faking seizures. Duh ...he's on anti-seizure medication. Keep an eye out for the lawsuit, Lakeside and Mountain View Police.

O.K. to ride in Colorado - Court Ruling Final

The case of a motor assist bicycle was successully challenged in the Department of Motor Vehicle and concluded to be a BICYCLE.

This bicycle involves a small engine (SIZE IS NOT A FACTOR IN THE RULING AND NEVER A CONSIDERATION!!), where the engine is driving a rubber wheel. The rubber wheel presses against the bicycle tire and assist in movement of the bicycle. The bicycle has pedals, was manufactured as a bicycle, and is not self-powered in any manner. The basis of the conclusion is that this was manufactured as a bicycle (never anything more), is not selfpowered and has pedals. The consideration did not involve the size of the engine, nor the matter of how the engine itself was powered.

Department of Motor Vehicle agreed that this was a bicycle and dropped all of their civil actions. This was not good enough for Lakeside and Mountain View police, who said this was a civil determination only and would give any operator of this vehicle a ticket if they were driving without a license.

Jefferson County Court has concluded that this vehicle is a bicyle. Attached is court ruling. Now that the judicial court has also agreed that this is a bicycle, this ruling is now official.

Thanks for the update this is good news.

I would like to still post the details from Motor Vehicle, as they went over the statutes carefully. But even on a low image scan ... and zip file ... the size is too big for files allowed in this system. Will keep trying.

SO is your son still facing the DUI charges for riding a bicycle? Seems the DMV is out of it now and no DWLS. Great win though.

Unfortunately yet. Don't have the money to take this to trial so took a plea bargain on a DWAI ... on a bike ... because no extra time or money. Simple plea. Frustrating, though, because we are positive he was not intoxicated ... we had just dropped him off. No breathalyzer - he gave a blood sample which was thrown away and not tested ... just word of mouth of police officer. In Colorado, you can be charged with a DWAI if the police officer says (verbal only) that you were to the slightest degree intoxicated. No measure of "slightest degree" needed. That's our justice system for you.

Thanks for the post. As a rule, I will still keep my bicycle with motor assist 49cc or less. I was able to print the Zip file and now have it posted on my wall.. Thanks for that.. Also.. Commerce City Colorado passed a law 2 years ago allowing all motor assisted bicycles, golf carts, and other modes of transportation of this type to travel anywhere in their city as long as roads used are posted 40mph or less.. Now that there is Case law in our favor, we can ride with less worries. Always be a good Steward for our transportation mode. I hope all cities adopt this soon . As fuel prices are almost 4 bucks in many places now and going higher !!! Help !!

Completed Motor Vehicle Hearing, with Colorado DMV agreeing that this motor assist bicycle is a bicycle, independent on size of gas engine attached. By the way, the engine is a 49 CC engine.

DMV decision is in writing and was delivered to Mountain View Police AND Lakeside Police, who commented that this is "only a civil hearing", and that they don't consider this a judicial decision.

Followup up with a judicial decision, declaring this vehicle to be a bicycle. This is in writing, signed by Jefferson County Judge (Burback) and was delivered to Mountain View Police AND Lakeside Police.

The idiot police chief at Lakeside Police said he didn't care and would still issue my son a (felony) ticket for riding the bicycle.

I contacted Senior District Attorney Mark Pautlier of Jefferson County. He said that they would dismiss charges if filed again by the police for type of vehicle. He didn't understand why the police would do charges if they knew they would be dismissed.

It is clear that this is now a case of HARRASSMENT by Chief Hughes of Lakeside Police. He would not explain why they would continue to consider this vehicle a motor vehicle, even after final decision by Colorado DMV, a Jefferson County judicial judge, and the Jefferson County DA. Chief Hughes can be reached at (303) 455-1980. He wouldn't answer my questions. This police department is NUTS - and has no citizen oversight committee.

My son gets his motor vehicle license back in a few months, and has decided that the threat of a felony can put him in jail - and delay the license for weeks/months - while we wait for the DA to dimiss any new charges. You are guilty and have to prove yourself innocent in Jefferson County.

The school systems don't tolerate bullies. Why do we allow bullies in the police department at Lakeside?

Contact the local newspaper...
That'll get their attention...
Also, the Mayor is the Chief's boss... Send him a letter with everything included here.. I'm sure there is a "police complaint form" somewhere..
Also, contact the US department of Justice, believe it or nor, they are the cops, who police cops... Trust me, the SECOND you get the Feds involved, the Chief of Police will change his tune QUICK !