Golf carts are considered a low-speed vehicle under Georgian law and can be driven by a licensed driver on a road or road, as long as the speed limit does not exceed 35 miles per hour. Vehicles used on national roads are subject to the uniform rules of the road under Chapter 6 of Title 40 of the Code of Georgia. In addition, section 40-6-331 of the O.C.G.A. gives local government agencies the authority to designate certain public roads for the combined use of motorized carts and regular vehicles. Some governing bodies have exercised this legal authority by creating multi-use pathways for pedestrians, cyclists and golf carts. See www.peachtree-city.org/index.asp?nid=216. Whether your UTV is legal on the road or not, some equipment is necessary if you plan to drive as an off-road vehicle in Georgia. National law states that all ORVs in Georgia must be equipped with functional brakes and a functional muffler. You are not allowed to ride ATVs or UTVs on public roads in Georgia. While the above reasons aren`t always immediately apparent, there`s another reason that could be of immediate benefit to all communities in the county, and that`s a monetary benefit. The use of these vehicles on the roads could be regulated by vignettes or license signs, which would have to be purchased from the county or another so-called administrative authority.
There could be an annual fee for that registration, just like other motor vehicles that go directly into the county and would be used immediately in a way that they felt would most benefit the community. The use of these vehicles would also have certain regulations and requirements that would have to be met to operate legally, and failure to comply with these policies would result in the same penalties as non-compliance with other vehicle regulations and policies, and it could also benefit the county`s money from these violations. We believe that the basic requirements for operation on public roads for the safety of all motorists would be as follows: Although Georgia requires motorcyclists to wear a helmet (and eye protection is required unless the vehicle has a windshield), helmets are not required if they are “riding in an enclosed cab.” Given that Georgia does not require helmet use nationwide to drive UTVs and other off-road ORVs, it seems reasonable that local authorities would not expect helmet use for street-approved UTVs in Georgia. For safety reasons, we always recommend wearing a helmet when driving a UTV on public roads. Georgia requires all vehicle owners to register their vehicles with the state as long as they are destined for public roads. Since the state does not allow ATVs to be registered, it is illegal to drive them on public roads. This website is owned and operated by Huntley Law. However, nothing herein shall be construed as legal advice and shall not be construed as creating an attorney-client relationship.
It participates in the Amazon Services LLC affiliate program, an affiliate advertising program that offers websites the opportunity to earn advertising fees through advertising and Amazon.com links. This website also participates in other affiliate programs and is paid to direct traffic and business to these companies. It is illegal to drive an all-terrain vehicle on public roads in Georgia. The law also prohibits you from driving an SUV in torrential streams. However, the law allows you to cross a stream directly. Georgia has put in place regulations to restrict the use of ATVs on public roads, protecting citizens from unnecessary accidents. Failure to comply with these laws will result in possible penalties and prison sentences, depending on the degree of the crime. Do you go to the supermarket? Take them side by side! Kids want a downtown tour? Come in and get started. The only downside to legalizing your UTV route in Georgia is the complexity of everything.
Why not let our team of experts register your UTV on your behalf while you`re on the go? Georgia has explicitly “prohibited any sticker, sticker, emblem or other device containing profane or suggestive words describing sexual acts, excretory functions or parts of the human body” when applied to a vehicle. Even if these items are legal in your state, there`s a good chance you`ll be stopped while driving in Georgia and asked to remove them. If your vehicle is registered in Georgia, you may not have it at all. At a minimum, any UTV that is not road approved shall be equipped as described in the previous section on PHEV ranges. Local areas may also have their own needs for road transport equipment. Other monetary benefits would take the form of increased sales of these vehicles simply because they could be driven on public roads. Many people would probably like to have one of these vehicles, but cannot afford to buy the trailer and towing vehicle if they have nowhere to drive on their own property. Again, this could benefit the local community through increased revenue from taxes levied on these increased sales.
Several municipalities across the country have already recognized the importance and benefits of the legal use of these vehicles on public roads. Several other states have legalized their regulated use on public roads in the state, including Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Minnesota, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. There may well be others, as many states are currently considering exactly this idea. Georgia House`s 2016 Bill 1040, unpassed, would have defined motor cycles as three-wheelers. There is also a category called a multi-purpose off-road vehicle, the purpose of which is unclear as it is mentioned only once in the Georgia Code. We called Georgia Wildlife Services and the officer could not explain this category, but told us there would be no route approval. Additional resources are linked in the Acts, Codes and Other Resources section below. ATVs and UTVs cannot be legally operated on public roads, roads, or highways, including hard shoulders of the road or highway in the State of Georgia.
Exploitation on private property requires the written permission of the owner. The recent increase in fuel costs is one of the main reasons for this petition, as many people would choose to use side-by-side vehicles and UTVs to save fuel, as is the number of people who drive motorcycles to save fuel. These vehicles do not consume as much fuel as full-size cars and trucks, which would benefit both users of these vehicles and non-users as fuel demand decreases. This drop in demand can help promote lower pump prices for all consumers. In addition, many people have to tow their vehicles to other parts of the county to drive for recreational purposes, which actually increases fuel economy by requiring a vehicle, usually a large truck or SUV, to pull a trailer to the chosen location. This consumes much more fuel than if they could get to the location in the vehicle itself. It can also create safety risks for users and non-users, both in the possibility of objects, including the vehicles themselves, detaching or falling onto the roadway from trailers, as well as in the fact that the vehicle and trailer are often parked on the side of the road on the site. This can lead to traffic jams and a risk of impact or injury to other motorists.
Unlike motorcycles and mopeds, these vehicles could be used year-round with the right boxes and equipment. This greatly increases this benefit, especially during the winter hunting season in our region. Speaking of safety, another reason these vehicles are allowed to ride on city and county roads is that while these vehicles are smaller than regular cars and trucks, they are much larger than motorcycles and mopeds, making them more visible to other drivers. This increases security for users and non-users alike. These vehicles are much safer than motorcycles and mopeds, both of which are legally allowed to ride on public roads, due to this fact and the fact that some have full roll bars and seat belts. If people were used to seeing these vehicles on the road, they would also be less likely to ignore them. Being able to legally exploit them on the street would also reduce the reckless activities associated with illegal logging on the roads, such as: Speeding, driving on the roads and driving through other people`s property, as users would not have to try to avoid the authorities. There are also many people who cannot or do not want to ride motorcycles or mopeds, but who could have the same advantages and advantages as motorcycle/moped users by legally driving their side-by-side or UTV on county roads. Off-road vehicles used for official government work, agriculture, mining, and other industrial purposes in Georgia are exempt from certain ORV laws and may be eligible for road traffic. For the full list of special uses, see Georgian Law 40-7-3 with additional details on agricultural use in Georgian statutes Title 40 Chapter 6 Article 13 Part 1B.
Contact your local authorities to find out if your UTV use case might be street legal in Georgia. The law allows you to drive a vehicle on any land, highway or highway in the state only if you have a valid driver`s license. However, Georgia is silent on the minimum age at which a person is allowed to drive an all-terrain vehicle on public or private property. Continuing our series of articles on the analysis of ATV laws in each state that emerged from this article, in this article we discuss ATV laws in Georgia. Unfortunately, Georgia doesn`t have many ATV and UTV laws, but what they have is listed below. It should also be noted that although I am a lawyer, I am not your lawyer and do not give legal advice.