Idaho Moped Law

[GreedyRogue]

I find it hard to believe that a law would be passed like this with no one hearing about it. And the fact that they only "ban" gas powered and not electric vehicles.

Besides, I've heard at least 3 different versions of the law pertaining to mopeds from my local dmv.

Not gonna believe it until I see the law in writing.

Either Taz is just stirring crap to see things fly, or the DMV is blowing smoke.

I may have tracked down a closer date for the moped definition date. I ran across This. It is for the session Convened January 11, 2010, Adjourned March 29, 2010.

I'm not sure if this is the date the definition was changed, or just published or ?!? If anyone can narrow it down better, I'd appreciate it.

 

[DaveC]

I found the section refering to motorized bikes. It is what we have been discussing. Nothing about banning anything.

 

[GreedyRogue]

Can you share a link to what you have found?

 

[DaveC]

Here it is. Page 570. I took out the irrelevant stuff.




SECTION 35. That Section 49114,
Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
49114.
(9) "Moped" means a limited speed
motor driven
cycle having:
(a) Both motorized and pedal propulsion that is not capable of propelling
the vehicle at a speed in excess of thirty (30) miles per hour
on level ground, whether two (2) or three (3) wheels are in contact
with the ground during operation. If an internal combustion engine is
used, the displacement shall not exceed fifty (50) cubic centimeters
and the moped shall have a power drive system that functions directly or
automatically without clutching or shifting by the operator after the
drive system is engaged; or
(b) Two (2) wheels or three (3) wheels with no pedals, which is powered
solely by electrical energy, has an automatic transmission, a motor
which produces less than two (2) gross brake horsepower, is capable of
propelling the device at a maximum speed of not more than thirty (30)
miles per hour on level ground and as originally manufactured, meets
federal motor vehicle safety standards for motor driven
cycles. A
moped is not required to be titled and no motorcycle endorsement is
required for its operator.
C. 235 2010 IDAHO SESSION LAWS 571
(10) "Motorbike" means a vehicle as defined in section 677101,
Idaho
Code. Such vehicle shall be titled and may be approved for motorcycle registration
pursuant to section 49402,
Idaho Code, upon certification by the
owner of the installation and use of conversion components that make the motorbike
compliant with federal motor vehicle safety standards.
(11) "Motorcycle" means every motor vehicle having a seat or saddle for
the use of the rider and designed to travel on not more than three (3) wheels
in contact with the ground that meets the federal motor vehicle safety standards
as originally designed, and includes a converted motorbike, but does
not include a motor driven
cycle, a motorbike, a tractor or a moped.
(12) "Motor carrier" means an individual, partnership, corporation or
other legal entity engaged in the transportation by motor vehicle of persons
or property in the furtherance of a business or for hire.
(13) "Motor driven
cycle" means a cycle with a motor that produces five
(5) brake horsepower or less as originally manufactured that meets federal
motor vehicle safety standards as originally designed, and does not include
mopeds. Such vehicle shall be titled and a motorcycle endorsement is required
for its operation.
.

 

[GreedyRogue]

That looks like the same info from the link I posted above.

I agree, nothing suggesting mopeds are banned at all.

 

[DaveC]

Add to that the fact the government does not like to revisit something they have just gone over and re-affirmed.

I'll wait until it comes out in paperback before I change my plans I can smell that Morini motor

You know, I think part of the problem is @ZZhat sellers calling a scooter a moped. I see it over and over in eBay ads and elsewhere.

If this is true(plz nooo) then the loophole that electric mopeds fit is my only way out, they just look so dam Ghe.....g-word

 

[DuctTapedGoat]

Idaho State Legislature - 2011 Enacted Legislation

Show me where it was enacted into legislation Taz.

 

[GreedyRogue]

It's not just craiglist sellers advertising their scooter as a moped, I have seen alot of Dealerships claim they are mopeds as well.

 

[DuctTapedGoat]

GR: That one is from 7/1/2006 and it is the most current.

Tazz: Recieved a call from Idaho Legislature Library today :
First Message (not uploaded yet)(gah, can't get my phone to send this one)
Second Message http://www.archive.org/download/LegisltionLibrary_Moped/vm110527170445.wav

 

[tazzilla]

Guys Not trying to stir any up. I am close to 45 and no need to play games. I have a 1981 yamaha QT50 with only 328 miles it is 100% like new and has a 49cc engine that I like to just use for my pit bike and cruise my neighborhood every so often. I have contacted the main number for the Idaho DMV and was told that state law no longer allows anything under 50cc to be licensed or registered for use on public roads in Idaho and to check local county office as the law for counties is different at times. Note I ask if this applies to all moped's as well as motorized bicycles and the answer was yes. So I called the local office for Nampa/Caldwell and got the same answer from that office and was told to call the Idaho dept.. of Transportation. That was where I was informed that the law had changed in Feb 2011 and that there is no longer any use of ANY type of motorized vehicles allowed on public roadways that are under 50cc and this law was passed for public safety. I am only sharing what I was told last week. I myself was blown away with this info and basically let them know that it was a bull**** law. I however did contact the Nampa Police dept. and did a follow up question and they stated that if it is 49cc or less that it needs no registration, license or insurance and that the rider must obey all laws and stay off highways. So yes all info provided is not them same and what the police say and what the dept. of transportation says is different. All I know is I don't plan on riding out side of my neighborhood and have the officers name and badge number just incase I do get pulled over. So as of right now I no longer have it plated or licensed only time will tell who was right. That is all the info I have i wish I was provided some new code for the law, but hey its the Gov't and they are really not the sharpest out there.

 

[DuctTapedGoat]

Well Tazzilla, I really doubt your pit bike has any pedals, no?

I have stated here that Nampa Municipal code categorizes gas motor bicycles as "Bicycles", not "Moped" as most of the rest of the state has it. The moped definition has not been changed since 7/1/2006

What you're talking about doesn't apply to what we're talking about here on this forum in any way shape or form.

The DMV doesn't handle bicycles. People really need to leave them alone unless your state calls to have your bike registered at the DMV. Even the DOT doesn't handle bicycles, so why would you ask there?

I know what I'm talking about, I've been researching the Idaho code for the last 3 years since I started riding.

Like I said - Idaho State Legislature - 2011 Enacted Legislation

Find it. Any laws put into effect in 2011 will be there.

 

[DaveC]

Yep, it's the confusion caused by dumbaZZ dealers calling a scooter a moped. A scooter has no PEDals.

I think a frying pan is needed to whack some intelligence into those morons who insist on calling a scooter a moped, kinda sorta the same but not

 

[DuctTapedGoat]

People don't realize that Moped is a combination of MOtor and PEDal. Granted though, they were off the streets for a long time after major production stopped in the late 70s, then when scooters came out with the same step through frame, they looked the same so people called them mopeds.

 

[GreedyRogue]

I see alot of new posts here since I was gone for the day. I know from personal experience that the ITD has NO idea what they are talking about most of the time. Send them an email Taz and ask them for the specific code. Even if they provide one, it probably won't apply to mopeds.

I would like to point out that there are 2 different types of mopeds here in Idaho, according to the code. Gas motor with pedals, or electric system without pedals. The way it is worded in the code, putting an electric system on a bike and keeping the pedals, is NOT a moped. Not even sure what that would fall under.

I would loke to point out Goat, the ITD actually does have a bicycle division. I "Believe" they are responsible for running the bicycle routes along the highway. I may be wrong, but I know they have a bicycle division. Contacting the dmv for bicycle related info is good too, because they hand out the bicycle manuals. So there actually is a reason to contact those 2 dept's for bicycle info.

And Taz, just to clarify, a "highway" as defined by Idaho code includes ALL roads. Including the roads around your neighborhood. If they said to stay off all "highways", You are breaking the law riding your 49cc bike out there without being registered, etc. Without pedals you don't have the exceptions we have for a moped.

code 49-109
""Highway" means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way publicly maintained when any part is open to the use of the public for vehicular travel, with jurisdiction extending to the adjacent property line, including sidewalks, shoulders, berms and rights-of-way not intended for motorized traffic. The term "street" is interchangeable with highway."

As a side note Goat, I just looked at the moped definition change in the 2006 legislation and I see an error. The current code has the sentance "A moped is not required to be titled and no motorcycle endorsement is required for its operator." at the end of it. That isn't stated in the definition change from 2006. Where did that line come from?

 

[DuctTapedGoat]

HOUSE BILL NO. 187 - MV, unconventional, registratn

This is probably what Tazz is being told of. Though it was passed in the house, it was denyed when it went in front of the senate. I have confirmed this when I contacted the legislative library, as the senate decision is not listed - all that is shown is that it is not included in the code.

 

[DuctTapedGoat]

Rogue - 7/1/2008, I must have typed the wrong year so I double checked.

HOUSE BILL NO. 365 - MV registratn, safety standards

7/1/2001
TO REVISE THE DEFINITION OF "MOPED" TO PROVIDE THAT THE CYCLE SHALL HAVE BOTH MOTORIZED AND PEDAL PROPULSION;
http://legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2001/S1016.html

7/1/2006
MOPED - Amends existing law relating to motor vehicles to revise the definition of "moped" to include vehicles without pedals that are powered solely by electrical energy.
http://legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2006/H0760.html


On an older note:

Bill 187 which I mentioned previously had this included :

(10) Any person with a valid driver's license issued in their name is exempt from the requirement to obtain a motorcycle endorsement on the license when operating a moped

But it was denied as I said at the senate. This is the closest proof there is to that of operating a motorized bike and not requiring a license, and that is that they tried to make it a law that specifically a moped rider needed a driver's license, but it was denied.

 

[GreedyRogue]

I appreciate all the detective work you have done goat, however I need 1 more piece of info.

At what point was the sentence "A moped is not required to be titled and no motorcycle endorsement is required for its operator." added?

That one sentence could be the difference of it being a motor vehicle or not being a motor vehicle.

 

[DuctTapedGoat]

There's really no need to worry about when it was put in there - and in regards to the 2007 statement I posted, it simply acts more on motor bicyclers behalf. It's truly a moot point to try to find a way to prove that motor bicycling is illegal according to Idaho Statutes.

Take a read on this...

(g) Motor vehicle. Every vehicle which is self-propelled, and for the purpose of titling and registration meets federal motor vehicle safety standards as defined in section 49-107, Idaho Code. Motor vehicle does not include vehicles moved solely by human power, electric personal assistive mobility devices and motorized wheelchairs or other such vehicles that are specifically exempt from titling or registration requirements under title 49, Idaho Code.

....A moped is not required to be titled and no motorcycle endorsement is
required for its operator....


Mopeds are specifically exempt from titling or registration, thus it's not a motor vehicle. The reason is that it's NOT self-propelled, it has motor assist. That's why if you remove the pedals, then you have a motorcycle that isn't up to code, and then you run into legal issues.

 

[GreedyRogue]

I'm not trying to prove they are illegal, I am trying to prove exactly what you said. They are not motor vehicles.

I want to get the ITD to remove the requirement of a drivers license for moped operators. I still am unable to find when that sentence was added. If it was never passed by law, then it must be a typo.

I just prefer to have bulletproof evidence when I am trying to convince people that they are not motor vehicles, but can't find when that sentence was added.

 

[DuctTapedGoat]

I know - I don't mean "you", I mean figurative "you" [anyone who wants to say they're not : IE; DMV employee, Cops, etc etc].

There is a place that notes that a driver's license is required, though it's not in the Idaho Statutes. Look at the Idaho S.T.A.R.S. website, and there's a guide which states that a DL is required. That would be the D.O.T. definition of the code in place, which would hold utmost authority IMHO.