West Virginia ATV Law
§17F-1-1.
Acts prohibited by
operator; penalties for violations.
(a) No all-terrain vehicle
may be operated in this state:
(1) On any interstate
highway except by public safety
personnel responding to emergencies;
(2) On any road or highway
with a center line or more than
two lanes except for the purpose of crossing the road,
street or highway, if:
(A) The crossing is made at
an angle of approximately ninety
degrees to the direction of the highway and at a place
where no obstruction
prevents a quick and safe crossing;
(B) The vehicle is brought
to a complete stop before
crossing the shoulder or main traveled way of the
highway;
(C) The operator yields his
or her right-of-way to all
oncoming traffic that constitutes an immediate potential
hazard; and
(D) Both the headlight and
taillight are illuminated when
the crossing is made if the vehicle is so equipped;
(3) With more than one
passenger unless more passengers are
allowed under manufacturers’ recommendations;
(4) With a passenger under
the age of eighteen, unless the
operator has at a minimum a level two intermediate
driver’s license or its
equivalent or is eighteen years of age or older;
(5) Unless riders under the
age of eighteen are wearing size
appropriate protective helmets that meet the current
performance specifications
established by the American National Standards Institute
standard, z 90.1, the
United States Department of Transportation federal motor
vehicle safety
standard no. 218 or Snell safety standards for
protective headgear for vehicle
users;
(6) Anytime from sunset to
sunrise without an illuminated
headlight or lights and taillights;
(7) Without a
manufacturer-installed or equivalent spark
arrester and a manufacturer-installed or equivalent
muffler in proper working
order and properly connected to the vehicle’s exhaust
system; or
(8) Unless operating in
compliance with the provisions of
section two of this article.
(b) An all-terrain vehicle
may be operated upon the
shoulder, or as far to the right on the pavement as
possible when there is not
enough shoulder to safely operate, on any road,
street or highway
referred to in subdivision (2), subsection (a) of this
section other than an
interstate highway for a distance not to exceed ten
miles to travel between a
residence or lodging and off-road trails, fields and
areas of operation,
including stops for food, fuel, supplies and restrooms,
if:
(1) The vehicle is operated
at speeds of twenty-five miles
per hour or less; and
(2) The vehicle is operated
at any time from sunset to
sunrise the all-terrain vehicle must be equipped with
headlights and taillights
which must be illuminated.
(c) Operation of an
all-terrain vehicle in accordance with
subsection (b) shall not constitute operation of a motor
vehicle on a road or
highway of this state as contemplated by the provisions
of section seven of
this article.
(d) Notwithstanding any
provision of this chapter to the
contrary, a municipality, county or other political
subdivision of the state
may authorize the operation of all-terrain vehicles on
certain specified roads,
streets or highways which are marked with centerline
pavement markings, other
than interstate highways, to allow participation in
parades, exhibitions and
other special events, in emergencies or for specified
purposes.
§17F-1-2.
Safety awareness courses.
(a) The Commissioner of
Motor Vehicles shall offer a free
all-terrain vehicle rider safety awareness course, and
may approve other
all-terrain vehicle rider safety awareness courses, to
meet the reasonably
anticipated needs of the public. The commissioner shall
offer free safety
awareness course materials to authorized dealers of
all-terrain vehicles for
use by purchasers and potential purchasers free of
charge.
(b) The commissioner shall
issue certificates of completion
to persons who satisfactorily complete the requirements
of an approved course.
The commissioner may authorize a dealer of all-terrain
vehicles and other
approved providers to issue the certificates of
completion. The commissioner
may authorize a state institution of higher education,
which is the operator,
owner, trainer or promoter of an all-terrain vehicle
rider safety awareness
course approved by the commissioner, pursuant to
subsection (a) of this
section, to issue the certificates of completion on
behalf of the commissioner.
(c) No person under the age
of eighteen may operate an
all-terrain vehicle without a certificate of completion
of a vehicle rider
safety awareness course as offered or approved by the
commissioner.
(d) The provisions of
subsection (c) of this section do not
apply to the operation of an all-terrain vehicle on any
private or public
recreational trail or area or affiliated trail or area
operated by a person or
entity which has in place a safety program.
(e) No state institution of
higher education, which
operates, owns, trains or promotes an all-terrain
vehicle rider safety
awareness course approved by the commissioner, pursuant
to this section, is
liable for personal injuries to, or for the death of, a
rider that may occur
during an approved all-terrain vehicle rider safety
awareness course, unless an
employee or agent of the state institution of higher
education's acts or
omissions are with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or
undertaken in a wanton
or reckless manner.
§17F-1-3.
Local government authority
to regulate.
Notwithstanding any
provision of this article to the
contrary:
(1) The governing body of a
municipality may regulate in any
manner or prohibit, by lawfully enacted ordinance, the
operation of all-terrain
vehicles upon any street, road or avenue within the
municipal corporate limits.
(2) Homeowner associations
may petition the county
commission of the county in which the area regulated by
the homeowner
association is located for an ordinance to regulate or
prohibit the operation
of all-terrain vehicles upon any street, road or avenue
within the area
regulated by the homeowner association. County
commissions are hereby
authorized, upon receipt of a petition authorized by the
provisions of this
section, to enact an ordinance regulating or prohibiting
the operation of
all-terrain vehicles.
(3) The county commission
of any county which has in effect
and is operating under a countywide comprehensive plan
may by lawfully enacted
ordinance regulate or prohibit the operation of
all-terrain vehicles on any
road in the county, except interstate highways:
Provided, That any county which
enacts any such ordinance shall notify the West Virginia
state police and all
law-enforcement agencies in the county of its action in
writing, together with
a copy of the ordinance.
§17F-1-4.
All-terrain vehicle rental
dealers required to provide safety equipment.
Any person or entity
renting or leasing all-terrain vehicles
for recreational purposes must provide protective
helmets as defined by the
provisions of subdivision (5), subsection (a), section
one of this article, to
all persons using such vehicles who are under the age of
eighteen and offer
protective helmets to all persons eighteen and older
using the rented or leased
vehicles: Provided, That for the provisions of this
section to be applicable,
the age and identity of the users of the all-terrain
vehicle must be disclosed
to the person or entity providing the rented or leased
vehicle.
§17F-1-5.
Private property
exemption.
Except as provided by the
provisions of subdivisions (3),
(4) and (5), subsection (a), section one of this
article, and except as
provided by the provisions of section two of this
article, the provisions of
this article do not apply if the all-terrain vehicle is
operated exclusively on
lands owned or leased by the vehicle owner or on private
lands of others with
the owner's permission.
§17F-1-6.
Exemption for farm,
commercial use; current regulations.
(a) Except as provided by
the provisions of subdivisions (4)
and (5), subsection (a), section one, nothing in this
article may be construed
to preclude or limit the use or operation of all-terrain
vehicles for lawful
nonrecreational commercial purposes, including, but not
limited to, farm use,
oil and gas operations, timbering, surveying and public
utilities access.
(b) Nothing in this chapter
may be construed to supersede or
contravene the provisions of any agreement between the
State of West Virginia
and any private or governmental entity entered into
prior to the effective date
of this chapter, or any lawfully promulgated legislative
rule, including any
emergency legislative rule, regulating the operation of
all-terrain vehicles.
§17F-1-7.
Applicability of rules of
operation.
(a) Every person operating
an all-terrain vehicle upon a
public road or highway of this state shall be subject to
all of the duties
applicable to the driver of a vehicle by the provisions
of chapter seventeen-c
of this code except where inconsistent with the
provisions of this article and
except as to those provisions of chapter seventeen-c of
this code which by
their nature can have no application.
(b) Notwithstanding the
provisions of subsection (a) of this
section, a motor vehicle operator's license is not
required of an operator of
an all-terrain vehicle when he or she is operating said
vehicle in conformity
with the provisions of subdivision (2), subsection (a)
or subsection (b),
section one of this chapter except when the operator is
under the age of
eighteen and is transporting a passenger under the age
of eighteen.
§17F-1-8.
Criminal penalties.
(a) Except as provided in
the provisions of subsection (b)
of this section and in addition to any other legal
remedy for violation of
civil or criminal provisions of this code, any person
who violates the
provisions of this article or municipal or county
ordinance enacted pursuant to
the provisions of section three of this article or who
owns or has control over
an all-terrain vehicle and knowingly permits it to be
used in violation of the
provisions of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not more than $100.
(b) Any parent, legal
guardian or person who has actual
responsibility for a child under eighteen years of age
who knows or should have
known the child is operating or is a passenger on an
all-terrain vehicle
without a helmet as required by the provisions of
section one of this article
is guilty of a misdemeanor and, shall, upon conviction,
be subject to the
following penalties:
(1) For a first offense, a
fine of not less than $50 nor
more than $100 or not more than ten hours of community
service, or both;
(2) For a second offense, a
fine of not less than $100 nor
more than $200 or not more than twenty hours of
community service, or both;
(3) For a third or
subsequent offense, a fine of not less
than $200 nor more than $500 or not more than one
hundred hours of community
service, or both.
§17F-1-9.
Definition of all-terrain
and utility terrain vehicle.
(a) As used in this
chapter:
(1) “All-terrain vehicle”
or “ATV” means any motor vehicle
designed for off-highway use and designed to travel on
not less than three
low-pressure tires, having a seat or saddle designed to
be straddled by the
operator and handlebars for steering control and
intended by the manufacturer
to be used by a single operator or by an operator and no
more than one
passenger.
(2) “Utility-terrain
vehicle” means any motor vehicle with
four or more low-pressure tires designed for off-highway
use having bench or
bucket seating for each occupant and a steering wheel
for control.
(3) “Motorcycle” means any
motor vehicle manufactured with
no more than two wheels and having a seat or a saddle
for the use of the
operator.
(4) “Off-highway vehicle”
means a vehicle intended for
off-highway use and includes all-terrain vehicles,
utility-terrain vehicles,
motorcycles and off-road vehicles;
(5) “Off-road vehicle”
means a vehicle that is suitable for
off-road use. It includes a four-wheel drive
vehicle such as a Jeep,
pickup or sport utility vehicle. It also includes a
specially designed,
modified or customized off-road vehicle that is of a
similar size to a vehicle
manufactured for highway use.
(b) As used in this
article, “all-terrain vehicle” and
“vehicle”, or the plural, mean all-terrain vehicles,
utility-terrain vehicles,
motorcycles and off-highway vehicles.