Missouri Revised Statutes
Chapter 304
Traffic Regulations
Section 304.013

August 28, 2007




All-terrain vehicles, prohibited on highways, rivers or streams of this state, exceptions, operational requirements--special permits--prohibited uses--penalty.
304.013. 1. No person shall operate an all-terrain vehicle, as defined in section 301.010, RSMo, upon the highways of this state, except as follows:

(1) All-terrain vehicles owned and operated by a governmental entity for official use;

(2) All-terrain vehicles operated for agricultural purposes or industrial on-premises purposes between the official sunrise and sunset on the day of operation;

(3) All-terrain vehicles operated by handicapped persons for short distances occasionally only on the state's secondary roads when operated between the hours of sunrise and sunset;

(4) Governing bodies of cities may issue special permits to licensed drivers for special uses of all-terrain vehicles on highways within the city limits. Fees of fifteen dollars may be collected and retained by cities for such permits;

(5) Governing bodies of counties may issue special permits to licensed drivers for special uses of all-terrain vehicles on county roads within the county. Fees of fifteen dollars may be collected and retained by the counties for such permits.

2. No person shall operate an off-road vehicle within any stream or river in this state, except that off-road vehicles may be operated within waterways which flow within the boundaries of land which an off-road vehicle operator owns, or for agricultural purposes within the boundaries of land which an off-road vehicle operator owns or has permission to be upon, or for the purpose of fording such stream or river of this state at such road crossings as are customary or part of the highway system. All law enforcement officials or peace officers of this state and its political subdivisions or department of conservation agents or department of natural resources park rangers shall enforce the provisions of this subsection within the geographic area of their jurisdiction.

3. A person operating an all-terrain vehicle on a highway pursuant to an exception covered in this section shall have a valid operator's or chauffeur's license, except that a handicapped person operating such vehicle pursuant to subdivision (3) of subsection 1 of this section, but shall not be required to have passed an examination for the operation of a motorcycle, and the vehicle shall be operated at speeds of less than thirty miles per hour. When operated on a highway, an all-terrain vehicle shall have a bicycle safety flag, which extends not less than seven feet above the ground, attached to the rear of the vehicle. The bicycle safety flag shall be triangular in shape with an area of not less than thirty square inches and shall be day-glow in color.

4. No persons shall operate an all-terrain vehicle:

(1) In any careless way so as to endanger the person or property of another;

(2) While under the influence of alcohol or any controlled substance;

(3) Without a securely fastened safety helmet on the head of an individual who operates an all-terrain vehicle or who is being towed or otherwise propelled by an all-terrain vehicle, unless the individual is at least eighteen years of age.

5. No operator of an all-terrain vehicle shall carry a passenger, except for agricultural purposes. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any all-terrain vehicle in which the seat of such vehicle is designed to carry more than one person.

6. A violation of this section shall be a class C misdemeanor. In addition to other legal remedies, the attorney general or county prosecuting attorney may institute a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction for injunctive relief to prevent such violation or future violations and for the assessment of a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars per day of violation.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: OIown12

Yeah, there is no difference. The only roads (or highway or county roads or cul de sacs or motorways) I can legally ride on are certain forest service roads inside a National Park that is designated for ORV use. Even then I am only allowed to drive to and from the trailhead.</end quote></div>

there is a difference. a highway here is something like route 104, or somewhere where there aren't any houses. a rural road includes houses, farms maybe, or roads that go through town.

i've never had bad experiences with police. when i ride the atv on the road its only for about 500 feet and its for farm purposes. i'll tow wagons a lot with it down the road.

 

I ride mostly up in North GA at my Dads house which is located about 2-5miles from a national forest ATV trail. He lives in a gated mountain community with less that 40 homes and it;s all gravel roads. Everyone there rides atvs. I've only seen 1 LEO on the mountain in 3 years and he waved to me as i was crusing on my ATV...
It depends on where you are and how your acting!!!

Many many moons ago when I was a teenager growing up in upstate NY, me and some friends all had dirt bikes. I had a super fast KX80 that I personally rode. We used to tear around everwhere, neighborhood trails, the neighborhood itself, the Arterial... Where ever we wanted. we used to get Chased by the POPO all the time.... but we knew them. Some were family and close friends of family. It was like a cat and mouse game . We would stop on the side of the road and wait for them and then when they stopped we would roost mud on their cars... It was all in good fun.... LOL

WITH THAT SAID.. I do NOT advocate running from the police. You are endangering other peoples lives as well as yours.

 

Ha! When the local cops see me on the road they keep going because Iam out riding with them. Our town cops do a lot of road riding when we go out for the day. So I go with them.

 

i live in a little country town in rochester new york. and i was caught riding my ozark 250 down the road and i thought the cops thought i robbed a bank because there was not one cop, THERE WAS 3!!! they took my key, chained my front end to their fron end, and called a tow truck to tow it LITTERALLY 300 feet to the truck place!!! it costed me around 200 dollars to get it back

 

I think as long as the po po aren't called beacause u are riding like a tool i think most will let you roll on...me i play it safe and just ride WITH EM in my group is 4 cops so i'm all good!!!!

 

In South Dakota ATVs 250cc and larger can be licensed for road use and driven on any road or highway except the interstate and a few other controlled access roads. They are consdered motorcycles although a motorcycle riders license and helmet are not required.

 

I'm moving to south dakota~!!

 

In MA, you can only technically cross a road if your atv is registered. You can't ride on roads here. If you do, or you cross a road without being registered you get a citation and the atv/bike can be towed.

 

In North Dakota you can drive on county and township roads and also in the highway right of way but you can't operate on highway or interstates. So ditches and gravel roads are all game, i'm plenty happy with these laws.