Idaho Moped Law

[DuctTapedGoat]

Most people have a license anyways, and those who've never had one shouldn't have anything to worry about. Though, if someone has a suspended license I do feel personally that they should be restricted from riding a motorized bike. Not because of code or anything, but on the account of principle that I wouldn't expound on without a cue.

 

[jburr36]

I agree. It's sad that the idaho code is somewhat vague but until someone is willing to go through the process of getting a ticket or arrested for driving without a valid license and fight their way through the system to make case law we are bound by the conventional interpretation that already exists. Most people would never do that. They would accept what is perceived as the conventional interpretation of the law and be bound by it. I have a cousin who is an Ada county prosecutor, another cousin who is a captain of the Garden City police department, another cousin who is an assistant warden for a state prison, a father who was a Boise city police officer-Canyon County deputy-Chief of Police in Idaho City, lots of friends who work for the state probation and parole board, and our family attorney used to be Idaho's attorney general so you see where I get my interpretations of the law from when I'm not being pulled over by the police.

As for the suspended license issue I totally agree with you on that. I have no tolerance for those who lose their licenses due to a DUI or DWI or those who have total disregard for public safety or total disregard to public and private property such as those who run from the police and what not. Too many innocent people's lives have been destroyed because of such behavior. As for Greedy's issue though I can understand where he is coming from. His is suspended due to non-payment of child support which has nothing to do with public safety and he requires transportation to get to work. He's working hard to find a loophole that gives him transportation without technically violating the law but in order for that loophole to be considered he's going to have to get a ticket/arrested and go to court and take it to the jury box to up end the conventional interpretation of the law regarding the driver's license issue. His problem with that his suspension may bias the jury against him whereas someone who has never had a driver's license thus no history of driving violations may not bias the jury in such a way.

I have a feeling that eventually the legislature is going to revise the statutes regarding mopeds considering that recent attempts have already been made. As gas prices go up and these things become more popular some politician is going to figure out a new source of revenue from licensing fees. Some cash strapped states are already pushing for mandatory bicycle registration. Idaho now has this miraculous $66 million dollar surplus that seemed to appear out of nowhere but that won't stop anyone from looking for ways to generate more revenue.

As for me I just want to ride my moped worry free so I'm making sure I conform to the laws as explained to me by law enforcement. I'm putting the horn, mirrors, and lights on my moped for my own safety and to comply with the FMVSS in hopes that I can get it registered and plated so I can legally travel from state to state.

 

[DuctTapedGoat]

Apparently there was a fairly recent briefing to BPD on motorized bicycles. A friend of mine had spoken to an officer about what information they were told, and it's very simple.

48cc. (old news)
30MPH. (heard it before)
A license is only necessary when you're riding a manufactured moped with a VIN, not required on a converted bicycle. (wait - what?)

 

[GreedyRogue]

Very interesting. Wonder if there will be any sort of official document to accompany that, or if it is just for officers use.

 

[DuctTapedGoat]

I'm going to ask an officer next time I'm out in Boise.

 

[jburr36]

And a direct contradiction to what the sheriff that stopped me out here said. Maybe one of us will set a precedent and create a standard on how the law is interpreted.

 

[GreedyRogue]

I sent an email to the BPD, ill post if they reply either way.

 

[jburr36]

My cousin is a captain of the Garden City police department. If I can get in touch with him I'll ask what Garden City's policy about motorized bicycles is.

 

[jburr36]

Ok. My cousin was promoted and is now an assistant chief of police in Garden City however I talked to a ex cop who told me some dirty little secrets regarding how cops are instructed to write tickets with fines.

He said that many municipal and county governments have ordinances that mirror the state statutes. The police have a choice of whether to write a ticket based on the city or the county or the state laws. If the cop writes a ticket based on the local city or county ordinance the city or county gets 70% of the proceeds from the fine and the state gets 30%. If the cop writes the ticket on the state statutes the state gets 100% of the proceeds of the fines.

Last year when there was all this buz about the state banning that Spice drug you noticed that the city of Meridian created a local ordinance banning the sale of Spice on the books before the state. This ensured that the city was going to get all the proceeds for writing tickets and collecting fines. Once the state made it illegal to sell Spice the city of Meridian would have to pay the state 30% of the proceeds from the fines.

This might be why different jurisdictions interpret the grey areas of the law differently. This person said that if the statutes say nothing about a bicycle with the engine kit attached to it then theoretically there are no laws that regulate it other than a bicycle however since there are laws that define what a moped is and that description fits a bicycle with an engine or motor some jurisdictions are going to regulate it as such while another jurisdiction may say these motorized bikes have no laws that regulate them other than bikes. If the jurisdiction regulates them as mopeds they are well within the law to do so with all the requirements as such (Driver's license and what not) and if the jurisdiction regulates them as bicycles then they are also well within the law to do so.

So where does that leave us? It leaves us to take our chances with how each jurisdiction decides to interpret the law. The City of Boise may regulate these things as bicycles but Garden City may regulate them as mopeds thus a person riding from Boise complies with Boise's ordinance and interpretation may get nailed in Garden City. The best way to protect ourselves from getting a ticket is to comply with the more strict regulations. If the strictest regulations we comply with are to go no faster than 30 mph and have a driver's license then we'd be safe and legal in all of them. It may not seem fair but it's going to be this way until someone forces a court case to set a precedent or the state legislature clarifies all these grey areas out of the statutes.

 

[GreedyRogue]

So here is the response I just got from BPD. I like how she got the MOPED definition mixed up as well.

Dear XX.XXXXX,
Here is what the Idaho Department of Motor Vehicles says about mopeds:

As long as your motorized bike is indeed a moped, you don't need a motorcycle license or endorsement. You only need a valid driver's license.

What Makes a Moped?
Your motorbike is a moped if it:

Has pedal propulsion and is electric.
Its top speed is 30 mph.
Has two or three wheels.
Has no more than a 50 cubic centimeter engine.
Has a direct or automatic power drive system (no need for clutching or shifting).
The Idaho Transportation Department provides a simple graphic online to help you determine whether your motorbike is a motorcycle or moped.

You can refer to the Idaho Transportation Department's website for further information.

Thank you.

Laura Weddle
Community Policing Unit

 

[jburr36]

So here is the response I just got from BPD. I like how she got the MOPED definition mixed up as well.

Dear XX.XXXXX,
Here is what the Idaho Department of Motor Vehicles says about mopeds:

As long as your motorized bike is indeed a moped, you don't need a motorcycle license or endorsement. You only need a valid driver's license.

What Makes a Moped?
Your motorbike is a moped if it:

Has pedal propulsion and is electric.
Its top speed is 30 mph.
Has two or three wheels.
Has no more than a 50 cubic centimeter engine.
Has a direct or automatic power drive system (no need for clutching or shifting).
The Idaho Transportation Department provides a simple graphic online to help you determine whether your motorbike is a motorcycle or moped.

You can refer to the Idaho Transportation Department's website for further information.

Thank you.

Laura Weddle
Community Policing Unit

That looks like just a form letter reply to me.

 

[GreedyRogue]

Yet another reply after I pointed out she mixed up the moped definition.

Sir--
I am not aware of any "briefing" held at BPD on the subject of mopeds, given that there are upwards of 25 briefings held at BPD in any given week. There is no BPD news/press release on this topic. Any licensing issue in regards to mopeds can be researched through the DMV and Idaho Transportation Dept. They hand down to us the licensing requirements.


So much for that one it seems.

 

[DuctTapedGoat]

It's just passing the blame to another department - it's how the government works at ANY level.

 

[jburr36]

It's just passing the blame to another department - it's how the government works at ANY level.

Maybe they get a bonus every time they do because they felt they actually accomplished something while being overworked and under paid.

Be proud to to our taxpayer dollars at work. Just like driving by all to construction zones out there and see one guy working and 7 sitting around BSing.

 

[DaveC]

Maybe they get a bonus every time they do because they felt they actually accomplished something while being overworked and under paid.

Be proud to to our taxpayer dollars at work. Just like driving by all to construction zones out there and see one guy working and 7 sitting around BSing.

It's funny how many times the 7 are waiting for the one to finish up his task before they can start their's

 

[jburr36]

It's funny how many times the 7 are waiting for the one to finish up his task before they can start their's

Oh lord, it much worse in California. 4 times Caltrans construction crews accidentally cut the 1 and only one fiber optic cable that services Humbolt county and Eureka in 3 years. When that happens everyone loses the internet. Police, fire, DMV, Banks, Retailers. Half the users of cell phones lose service as well. It turns the are into an all cash society with people walking around in a daze. No internet = dark ages I guess. I was trying to get my DL renewed so I can ride my MAB during one outage. It was pathetic.

 

[jburr36]

I talked to a seargent of the Emmett police department who was running radar about any local laws pertaining to motorized bicycles. He pulled out a sheet listing the current requirements for each class of vehicles. There was no classification for a motorized bicycle specifically so he said the criteria is based solely on displacement of the engine cylinder or electric motor torque. In other words my bike would be classified as a moped under 50cc's in the eyes of the Emmett PD.

Therefore the requirements for my 'moped' would be as follows:
I list for gasoline engines only since that is what I have

Engine under 50cc's
Must be insured
Must have a valid Idaho driver's license to operate it on public roads
Must be over 16 years of age
No motorcycle endorsement necessary
Must wear a DOT approved helmet if under 18
Must have a horn
Must have mirrors
Must have a headlight with hi-low beams
Must have a tail light
Must have a brake light
Must have right/left front and rear turn signals
Cannot go faster than 30 mph
Cannot be ridden on any state highway (where speeds exceed 45 mph)
Engine must have a muffler that limits noise to 96 Db. No louder.

Violating any of those requirements wll get you a ticket. Operating a moped in Emmett without a driver's license will get you at least arrested. That cop seemed really serious about that. So, unless I or someone wishes to set judicial precedent here in Emmett that is the law.

One other thing, there is a main road through town (Idaho state highway 52) aka Washington St. he said is technically off limits to mopeds because it is classified as a highway and not a roadway. He really stressed that point. I asked him if I just pedal with no engine power if it would be ok and he said no. A moped is a moped and not a bicycle regardless of how it is being propelled. He said it can only be a bicycle or a moped. By definition of the statutes it cannot be both.

So there is the official view of the statutes according to the Emmett PD.

 

[DuctTapedGoat]

Wow, that's some Naziism right there. They require it to be decked out like a motorcycle then. Seriously, you can pass State Issued VIN inspection if you get your brakes up to code on top of all that.

The thing is - that makes sense if it's a VIN'd moped, but it doesn't really apply to bicycle mopeds. You can't insure a vehicle that doesn't have a VIN!

 

[GreedyRogue]

When you get your bike up to code like that, please send us a pic Jburr. Also send us the company info of whoever you can get to register it.

Sure you walk into a place and say it's a moped, you might get insured. You show them your bike and they will probably laugh at you.

Engines under 50cc don't need insurance either, City Attorney told me that. Don't know where the helmet law or muffler law came from either.

And make sure you don't ride it until you get it up to code either. Should have a nice layer of dust on it by then.

He also forgot to add in code 49-933 referring to brakes.

 

[DuctTapedGoat]

Sterling Codifiers, Inc.


Emmett City Code. There is NOTHING in the Idaho statutes that constitutes all of that, and nothing additional in Municiple code.