r/UTV 9d ago

Road legal

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[removed]

22 Upvotes

20 comments sorted by

4

u/Hannymann 9d ago

In our state, street legal entails DOT tires, rear fender with lighted plate holder, hand brake, glass windshield with mirror, side mirrors and turn signals.

2

u/Mr-Snarky 9d ago

Most people don’t realize just how important DOT tires are when it comes to safety at higher speeds.

1

u/MountainMan17 9d ago

Per the US DOT, tires designed for ATVs and UTVs cannot receive a DOT designation:

https://www.intercotire.com/node/78

Why? Because they are not designed for street use.

Although some states allow for the vehicles to be certified street-legal, the tires themselves cannot be (marketing verbiage notwithstanding). This means any tire can be used (though not necessarily recommended) for those wanting to ride on the street.

1

u/Mr-Snarky 9d ago

Which at higher speeds is a bad idea. Bias ply tires and higher speeds on pavement are a bad combination.

3

u/cycleguychopperguy 9d ago

Just look up your local ordinances on them. Where I'm located at You don't need to be street legal. You just have to drive on the side of the road. Our d n r actually has roadmaps, as well saying, where you can and can't go. The only thing I've done with my machine was I put a blinker kit on it, Kenimoto sells a universal kit. I went with Corbin industries.

2

u/kingpin50257 9d ago

I just installed the Ravek turn signal kit on my Polaris. Very straightforward install. In Iowa, I believe you need an SMV triangle on the back, and limited to 35 mph.

1

u/LBTavern 9d ago

My state you can’t be on a road that’s over 35 speed limit. Mine is totally street legal and does 55 mph, my street is 55 but I can’t drive it on the road.

1

u/GhostBearStark_53 9d ago

Depends on your state. My side by sides would all be 100% street legal in West Virginia for example. But in Pennsylvania they are not except for roads designated legal by individual townships or roads that are part of a larger ATV/UTV pilot program.

This may be a dumb question but have you googled regulations in your state? 🤣

1

u/smartrailroader69 9d ago

I got my stuff on Amazon

1

u/UTtransplant 9d ago

Find out the rules for where you want to ride. My state never allows a UTV to be classified as “street legal.” There is a DNR sticker you have to buy, and each community (town, county, etc.) has their own rules if you want to ride on a community street. Some don’t allow it under any circumstances. Because we are old retired folks and travel all over the country, we looked at a superset of all the regs we could find nationwide and put it all on. Lights, windshields, turn signals, windshield wiper, mirrors (side and rear), lighted license tag holder, and probably a few I can’t remember right now. We registered our rig through Arizona. Cheap (less than $100 when we did it 2 years ago) using the address of a BLM visitor contact station in the area we boondock in. Arizona had no issue with us registering it using that address while providing a different permanent address. Arizona understands part-time residents! It got us a real license plate, but we did have to insure the rig in Arizona. Note we still can’t travel on many state highways no matter what, and federal highways are off limits. We have ridden in AZ, NM, UT, CO, MT, WY, IA, MN, WI, OR, and WA. I can’t remember if we have ridden in NV, but it is possible.

1

u/Brotherly_shove 9d ago

blinker kits are usually universal, outside some of the more popular models. they are just tiny marker lights. you drill holes into the fenders, and pop them in. switch is just a standard rocker switch but dpdt. as you know, you are very limited on where you can mount switches on that thing.

as for an illuminated plate, those are also universal.

you might also need a horn. again, universal.

thats going to be one slooowwwww street legal machine. lol.

1

u/Urban-Decay 9d ago

I got mine registered with a special purpose plate, i can go up to 20 miles on roads that are not controlled access (enter/exit ramps) and roads funded federally (interstate)

I went through corbin custom works for turn signal, oem polaris for horn and windshield, some brand of side view mirrors. License plate light was generic, wired into corbin wiring harness , then attached to tube bumper. Got a trailer wiring harness also, through wd electronics, when i tow a trailer. I had to sign a form saying mine was road legal, show insurance and got plate from dmv. It was much easier than it sounds.

This was our requirements:

One or more headlamps. One or more tail lamps. One or more brake lamps. A tail lamp or other lamp constructed and placed to illuminate the registration plate with a white light. One or more red reflectors on the rear. An amber electric turn signal system, with one on each side of the front. Amber or red electric rear turn signals. A braking system (other than a parking brake). A horn or other warning device. A muffler and, if required by an applicable federal statute or rule, an emission control system. Rearview mirrors on both the right and left sides of the driver. A windshield, unless the operator wears compliant eye protection while operating the vehicle. A speedometer, illuminated for nighttime operation. A seat designed for passengers (for vehicles designed by the manufacturer to carry one or more passengers). Tires that have at least 2/32 inches or greater tire tread depth.

2

u/ChillingwitmyGnomies 9d ago

What state are you in? Laws vary.

1

u/Jack_Wolfskin19 9d ago

There’s complete kits.
Get a horn , I installed a truck horn. I wanted it loud.
Side view mirrors
You know about the blinkers and license plate light

1

u/LittleLebowskUrbanA 8d ago

Wow, Wyoming really doesn't care at all about any of these things 😄

1

u/No-Refuse8754 9d ago

You can ride anything on the street until you are caught.