Legal: Motorcycle License And Helmet Laws

[yellowples]

On their home site the interviews say that their PR's are working with the legislation in all states on classification and requirements. Howbeit, just like on a motorcycle, you risk a fine being out of compliance. Good thing is, most of the law will not realize, at least for a while, that it is a 'motorcycle' and by that time most wrinkles will be ironed out. I'm from NY and am astonished they have already waived the requirement of a helmet though it is still classified a motorcycle.

 

[bowers baldwin]

The sticky point here is you can't buy a new motorcycle (or Elio) without a motorcycle license ( I found this out last year )
Long story short, I have owned cycles all my life, but never got an MC license, it was never a big deal, I could buy and sell used bikes without issue. Last year I went to buy a new bike ( had the cash in my hand at the dealer, no financing or loan ) and they by law could not sell to me due to the lack of an MC license. So be aware this may be an issue for some states. BTW this happened to me in NJ, I don't know about other states.

 

[zelio]

Does anyone know where you can find a list of states that don't require helmets and license's at this point? What happens if your state doesn't require them but you drive thru a state that does?

I tried to create a list of states that don't require endorsements but found the project overwhelming because so many DMVs don't even seem to realize there is such a thing as a 3 wheel vehicle let alone how to treat it. A good source of information and suggestions is the AAMVA website. They produced a YouTube video and a "Best Practices" guidelines publication for how to treat enclosed 3 wheeled motorcycles. Some states have already adopted these suggestions but others are simply unaware. I recommend familiarizing yourself with this information and then using as needed. The states on my list as having no endorsement requirement are:

Colorado
Illinois
Louisiana
Maine but at the time I made my list several months ago, you could only drive on roads with speed limits of 45mph or less
Oregon
Pennsylvania with a Class C license and over age of 18
Texas I have a note dated 7/24/14 that the THP says no
Washington

If any of you get additional official information about your states please let me know and I will be very happy to add it to my list. :-) Z

 

[goofyone]

Elio Motors has a team led by their Vice President for Government Affairs, Joel Sheltrown, who are actively working to insure that the helmet and motorcycle license issues are resolved as soon as possible with the target being to have everything resolved before the vehicles are delivered. Elio Motors has a nice blog post where this issue is discussed:

http://blog.eliomotors.com/lets-talk-about-laws-5-16-14/

It does not hurt to contact your state motor vehicles department and/or representatives to make them aware of this vehicle and make sure the laws are clear in your state as this benefits all future Elio owners. When you do contact your representatives make sure you point out that the AAMVA (American Association of Motor Vehicles Administration), the authority on best policy for all state DMV's and Licensing Bureaus, is recommending autocycle type vehicles such as the Elio be driven with a standard driver's license as this puts a lot of extra weight behind your suggestions.

http://www.aamva.org/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=4629&libID=4606

 

[Ty]

I agree. I think there are only 5 States where helmets are even an issue and would automatically be addressed in Elio's MC endorsement exemption.

Most of the time it's the lack of common sense that requires laws.

There are 5 states that require helmets by ALL but there are quite a few more that still require helmets in the Elio for people under 21.

 

[Jeff Porter]

The sticky point here is you can't buy a new motorcycle (or Elio) without a motorcycle license ( I found this out last year )
Long story short, I have owned cycles all my life, but never got an MC license, it was never a big deal, I could buy and sell used bikes without issue. Last year I went to buy a new bike ( had the cash in my hand at the dealer, no financing or loan ) and they by law could not sell to me due to the lack of an MC license. So be aware this may be an issue for some states. BTW this happened to me in NJ, I don't know about other states.

This is interesting Bowers. You could not buy a new motorcycle, because you did not have a license? The Stores map on www.eliomotors.com says a store will be in "New York - Northern New Jersey - Long Island, NY", but the little dot on the map that looks like it's for this location, is not in NJ.

Questions to everyone as well as Bowers: Is this just a strange NJ law? If in NJ you can't buy a new motorcycle without a license, then Elio probably won't have any stores in NJ. I'll have to google this to see what I can learn, if it applies to any other states.

 

[Jeff Porter]

In 2012, you could buy a new motorcycle without a license in MD. Found another post that says you can buy a new motorcycle in NY without a license. Unfortunately, when someone asks this question on a forum, nearly all the answers are for the question "can I operate a motorcycle without a license?" In 2008, someone bought a Harley in FL, no mc license. Will keep digging...

In 2008, a person in CO bought a new motorcyle without a license. Sounds like it varies by state, but I'd be interested in knowing: how many states might require a license to buy new?

Maybe it will not matter to us reservationists, as we are buying ours technically in Louisiana?

 

[bowers baldwin]

This is interesting Bowers. You could not buy a new motorcycle, because you did not have a license? The Stores map on www.eliomotors.com says a store will be in "New York - Northern New Jersey - Long Island, NY", but the little dot on the map that looks like it's for this location, is not in NJ.

Questions to everyone as well as Bowers: Is this just a strange NJ law? If in NJ you can't buy a new motorcycle without a license, then Elio probably won't have any stores in NJ. I'll have to google this to see what I can learn, if it applies to any other states.

I had to have my friend buy the bike (he gave me a lift to the bike dealer) and I was the co-owner, then after the title transfer we had to then transfer it to me as sole owner, at that point the bike was "used" and I had no problem titling it into my name only. It really threw a monkey wrench in my plans and cost extra money to do the title transfer (and tags) twice. Lucky my friend had an MC license or I would have had to go out and get one and then buy the bike.

 

[Rickb]

With the weight and number of wheels the Elio will be seen by Florida bureaucrats as a motorcycle. Welcome to the wonderful world of red tape. After the change in Tallahassee come November, I'll send a letter to the Governor and each of his three cabinet members, protesting the lack of insight concerning the current requirements and how they really don't fit the Elio. Me and my lower back don't want to learn how to ride a motorcycle when all I want to do is drive my new car. So contacts from constituents and letters and phone calls from Elio may shake some common sense into someone along the way.

Personally, I would recommend to simply email contact your States DOT regarding Elio licensing and where it stands without protest as they may simply agree that it needs to be reviewed as the Department that is actually responsible to monitor current legislation, has more insight than politicians, and actually recommend legislative changes. If that isn't successful then write the Governor and Reps. It's not lack of insight until they refuse common sense changes in their current laws.


Joel emailed and said thanks for making the initial contact as it got them thinking about it. Joel said he would followup........but have no idea if he did so. I would like to know the reception he got from my Idaho DOT contact.

 

[JP]

Not sure if this helps but here is the response I got when I emailed the governor about the need for a motorcycle license :