- What happens if my bike alarm is triggered and I'm not around to stop it?
- According to Section 22651.5 (a), a peace officer can remove a vehicle if he or she is unable to locate you 45 minutes from the time of arrival at the vehicle's location (and if the alarm's still wailing at that point).
- Return to Table of Contents.
- Can I ride my motorcycle in the bike lane?
- According to Section 21209 you can't drive a motor vehicle in a bike lane except 1) to park where parking is permitted, 2) to enter or leave the roadway, or 3) to prepare for a turn within a distance of 200 feet from the intersection.
- Return to Table of Contents.
- Can I listen to music through headphones while I ride?
- As long as you're not covering both ears with a headset or earplugs, you're okay. You could try to convince the police officer that only one ear was being covered by headphones under your helmet, but good luck. Section 27400 addresses the covering of ears.
- Return to Table of Contents.
- Is lane-splitting legal?
- Here's the text (verbatim) from the CHP's site: "Lane splitting by motorcycles is permissible under California law but must done in a safe and prudent manner. The motorcycle should be traveling no more than 10 mph faster than surrounding traffic (without exceeding the speed limit) and not come close enough to that traffic to cause a collision."
- Return to Table of Contents.
- What are my license requirements if I'm from another state or country?
- Depends on if you're a resident or not. Section 516 points out that "resident" means any person who intends to live or be located in this state on more than a temporary or transient basis. Presence in the state for six months or more in any 12-month period suggests residency. If you're a resident, you'll have to jump through the legal hoops with the rest of the Californians to get a license. If you're not a resident, then you are merely subject to the same driving laws as residents are.
Section 12502 (a) states that a nonresident over the age of 18 years having in his or her immediate possession a valid driver's license issued by a foreign jurisdiction of which he or she is a resident may operate a motor vehicle in this state without obtaining a driver's license. I imagine that if you're licensed to ride a motorcycle in your home state or country, you're cleared to do it as a visitor in California.
If you want more information (of which there is much), search the California Vehicle Code using the keyword "resident."
- Return to Table of Contents.
- What color lights can I have on my bike?
- Section 25950 limits the colors of the lights and reflectors on vehicles to white, yellow, amber and red. Exceptions are made for certain vehicles such as law enforcement vehicles. Green is also acceptable on running boards and door-mounted courtesy lamps (if you have these on your bike, you might just own the biggest bike ever made).
- Return to Table of Contents.
- Can I put flashing lights on my bike?
- In general, flashing lights are not allowed unless you're indicating a turn or lane change, warning of a traffic hazard, or driving a vehicle with a special purpose. Here are a few exceptions: Section 25251.5 (a) and (b) allow a flashing amber light to be used to indicate deceleration. Subdivision (c) allows any stoplamp to be equipped so as to flash not more than four times within the first four seconds after applying the brakes. Section 25251.2 allows for modulating headlamps. (See Section 25251 of the California Vehicle Code for complete details on flashing lights.)
- Return to Table of Contents.
- Can I park in a location where there is only one stall line to the left or right of me?
- Other than stall lines for handicapped individuals, there is no talk about stall lines in the California Vehicle Code. This is something that's most likely handled by individual counties. In the case of San Diego County, Article 10, Section 72.150 indicates the following for angle parking: "...the Road Commissioner shall indicate at what angle vehicles should be parked by placing parallel white lines on the surface of the roadway. On such portions of such highways a person shall not stop, stand, or park any vehicle except between, at the angle indicated by, and parallel to both such adjacent white lines with the nearest wheel not more than one foot from the curb or edge of the roadway."
As a San Diegan, I can verify that the folks in them cute little carts are ready and willing to slap a ticket on your bike for angle parking in a spot that doesn't have a white line on both sides. Damned if you do, damned if you don't: If you take up an entire parking stall, car drivers (especially in places where parking is a precious commodity) give you grief about it. If you cut drivers some slack by parking in out-of-the-way places, odds are you'll get slapped with a ticket.
- Return to Table of Contents.
- Can my pet be a passenger?
- According to 23117 (a), no person driving a motor vehicle can transport an animal unless that animal is secured in a manner which will prevent it from being thrown, falling or jumping from the vehicle. The good news is your dog doesn't need a helmet. The bad news is you're going to have to duct tape it to the seat.
- Return to Table of Contents.
- What's the youngest passenger I can carry?
- I didn't find a specific age requirement, but by virtue of the fact that every passenger on a motorcycle must keep his or her feet on the footrests indicates that a child would at least require legs long enough to reach the pegs (Section 27800).
What if an owner has raised the footpegs so a child can reach them? Well, there's always Section 21712 (b) which states that "No person shall ride on any vehicle or upon any portion thereof not designed or intended for the use of passengers." I suppose you can mount footpegs just about anywhere, but it can be argued that wherever you put them, its new location wasn't designed for the use of passengers. Could be the equivalent of sewing your own set of seatbelts in your car.
- Return to Table of Contents.
- Can I smoke while I ride?
- Section 23111 points out that no person in any vehicle may throw or discharge any lighted or nonlighted cigarette, cigar, match, or any flaming or glowing substance. The mere fact that the ash is coming off a cigarette and freely drifting into the great wide open could get the smoker a ticket. (Why would I ask this question? Because I recently saw a rider with a cig dangling from his mouth, and it was a peculiar sight indeed.)
- Return to Table of Contents.
- Can I wear tinted visors after sunset?
- There are those occasions when the sun has set and we're still on the road wearing a tinted visor. Section 26708 addresses shading and tinting devices on windows, but there is nothing prohibiting the wearing of tinted visors after sunset. Same thing goes for sunglasses.
- Return to Table of Contents.
- How do I make a two-stroke street legal?
- I'm currently researching this. I'll get back to you when I have an answer...
- Return to Table of Contents.
- Is doing a wheelie illegal?
- I found no laws indicating that all wheels of a vehicle must remain in contact with the ground. You might get tagged for reckless driving, but reckless driving is something done in "willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property." If you're really good at doing wheelies, it doesn't seem any more reckless than using one hand to steer the bike. (See section 23103 for the complete wording on reckless driving.)
Story from a reader (Chris Fitzsimmons): "I received a citation from a city cop about 5 years ago. The comments on the ticket said I raised my front tire from the ground. He got me for exhibition of speed. Because this is a misdemeanor and I did not want to lose my firearm permit (for my job at the time) I got an attorney. My attorney advised me to admit it and give the judge a sob story about the possibility of losing my job. The judge, in his good graces, reduced my charge to an infraction 'unsafe start' (what ever the hell that means)."
- Return to Table of Contents.
- Can the highway patrol write me a ticket on city streets and can city cops write me a ticket on the freeway?
- I posed this question to San Diego motorcyclists and the answer--backed by experience--is "yes." Any law enforcement official can write you up for a moving violation anywhere they darn well please. There is no freeway vs. city streets jurisdiction. So the next time you see Escondido's finest toodling down the freeway (no jokes here about rushing to the nearest donut shop), don't blow by them thinking only the highway patrol has the legal right to ask you, "Son (or in my case the surprised Miss?), do you know why I pulled you over?"
- Return to Table of Contents.
- What can I legally toss out my vehicle window?
- Yes, this isn't a motorcycle thing, but it's weird enough to mention. The only items sanctioned in the California Vehicle Code as those which can be legally discharged from a vehicle is clear water and feathers from live birds. Hey, don't dead birds lose their feathers, too?
- Return to Table of Contents.
|