Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

EYE YTHI TED TOK ABOU M OTORCYCLE * EGISTRAT 0 T his fact sheet is intended to provide simplified answers to t he most common q uest io ns regarding t he Chappie-Zberg Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Law of 19 71. T his new law req uires that m o t o r vehicles used exclusively off-highway be issue d and display an identification p late. T he California Department of Motor' V eh icles considers th is su mmary as an accurate interpretation of present law. How ever , it is a guideline o n ly and may not be cited as having the fo rce of law. Mo re detailed informatio n is avai lab le from local DMV offices o r from state h ead quar t er s of the department. • • • • • Q . What types of vehicles m ust be regis tered under provrsions of the Chappie-Z'berg Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Law of 19 7 1? A . In general, such vehicles as trail bikes, d une buggies and all-terrain vehicles used for re creational p urposes on public lan d, a nd not otherwise licensed to use p ublic roads. Q. What types of vehicles are not incl ud ed ? A. Those operated only o n their owner's private property or on someone else's private property with the consent of the owner or tenant, or vehicles used solely on land s commercially operated for off-highway re creation. Another excluded group would be motor vehicles being driven in an organized racing or competitive event on closed c ourse - provided that a recognized sanctioning b od y h as approved such event, or provided that appropriate lo cal governmental authority has issued a permit for t he event . Note: Snowmobiles must be registered under other provisions of the Vehicle Code. Q. What is the e ffect ive date of the new identification law ? A.July 1,1972 . Q. What is the fee? A . $15 fo r a two-year period or portion thereof, dating from July I, 1972, and $15 for every two-year period thereafter or portion t he reof, ending midnight Ju ne 30 in even-numbered years . Q. What it em s does an owner receive for his registration fee? A . Upon satisfactory proof of owne rship, the Department of Motor Vehicles wil l issue an ownership certificate (comparable to the "pink slip" now issued to automobile owners). an identification certificate, and an identification sti cker to be attached to the off-highway vehicle. The numbered sticker is 2 Y2x4 inc hes , green and silve r in color and reflectorized for greater visib ili t y. Q. Where must th e sticker b e at't ached? A . To th e rear of th e vehicle wherever an ade q ua te surface p ermits it to be a ffixed so as to be readily visib le. It must b e kep t legibl e. . Q. Will a new sticker be issued every tw o years? A. No . Pr esent provisio ns of the law require that the original identification sticke r b e use d fo r at leas t six years. H ow ever , for each two-year renewal p eriod a tab or other su itab le evidence of valid id en ti ficat ion will be issued. The id en ti ficat ion ce rti fica te also wou ld b e revalidat ed up on payme nt of the renewa l fee. A. If an identificatio n stic ker is lost , st o len , becomes mutilated or illegibl e, what must be do ne? A. T he owner mu st apply for a duplicate or new ident ificatio n. The cost is $3. This also applies in the case of a lo st, stolen, m ut ilat ed or illegib le certificate of '" N " '" '" 0N .... '" III N -c c. « '" w ;:: Z W .J U >- U ownership or certificate of iden tification. Q. What is th e procedure if the owner of an off-hig hway recreational veh icle covered in the Chappie-Z'berg law wish es to sell his veh icle? A . The following answer applies to privat e sellers - not to dealer s, who have other channels for reporting sales : The seller endorses h is ownership ce rt ificate an d gives it to the buyer, w ho within 10 days must endorse th e certificate and forward it to his lo cal DMV office or mail to Sacramento headquarters with the $3 transfer fee in ap plying for transfer of identification. T he applicant (b uyer) m ust pay for an y use taxes dues un less he is exempt. . . Q. How are the funds collected from identification fees t o be used? A. The $15 fee is divided th is way : $5 to DMV for off-highway veh icle program ad ministration; $4 to th e owner's county of resid ence in lieu of all property taxes on the vehicle; $6 to t he California Department of Parks and Rec reation. Q. How are the counties to use their direct $4 share of each S15 fee? , A. The Legislature's intent is that counties use these funds for (1) planning, acquiring and developing special areas and trail systems for the use of off-highway vehicles, (2) law enforcement in controlling vehicles being used off-highway, or (3) any other purpose in carrying out provisions of this law . Q. What does the Ca lifornia Department of Parks and Recreation do with its $6 share of ea ch fee? A. First, up to one-half of this amou nt is reserved for grants to cities, counties, or other local agencies (special purpose districts) for recreation projects for off-highway vehicles. These projects must accord with local government planning and with plans for a statewide trail system for recreational motor vehicles being developed by the Department of Pa rks and Re creation. To be eligible fo r these fu nds, local bodies m u st provide at least 25 % of project costs in matching funds . No te : T he local 25% share of mat ch in g fu nds may come from the $4 previously mentioned as being returned directly to eac h county. Second, the remainder - approximately $3 - must be used by the Department of Parks and Recreation to plan, acquire, develop, maintain and administer trails and areas for t he use of off-highway vehicles. Q . What factors led to enactment of the off-highway vehicle registration requirement? A . T he great in creas e in ow nershi p of such vehicles in recent years, co up led with growing demands by t he owne rs , co nservatio nists, livestock int erests, o ther groups usin g th e p ublic lands, ,an d b y federal and local government agencies , all of whom want so me kind of regul ati on and control. They want sp ecific areas to be set aside fo r th is t ype of o utdoo r enjoyment whe re such activity will not co nflict with p rivat e pro pert y rights o r wi th o ther valid uses of public domain. Major mo torcycling o rganizations and conserva tion groups gave st rong support to passage of th e legislation , which was signed into law by Governor R o nald R eagan in Decemb er 19 7 1. Note: Sp ecial menti o n mu st be made of the pio neering effort b y a cross sectio n of affected interests brough t toget he r by the U.S. Department of t he Interio r's Bureau of Land Managemen t. Late in 1970 , the 15-member gro up k nown as th e Off-Road Vehicle Advisory Co uncil issu ed a report set ti ng u p guidelines for managem ent o f public lands und er BLM's jurisd ict io n and recom mending fu rt her ac tion o n sta t e and federal levels t o ac hieve a coordinated, effective p rogram. O ne of the recomm en dations was: " A registration p ro gram should b e set u p for all powered off-road veh icl es usin g p ublic lands." T his is n o w being accomplished h er e in California . *(butdidn't bother to ask) send your questions about registration to: CycleNews,Box498, Long Beach,Calif. •

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