Amendment #497 to H4789

Agricultural Use of All Terrain Vehicles on Public Roads

Ms. Blais of Deerfield moves to amend the bill by adding the following section:-

"SECTION XXXX. Section 9 of chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking the third sentence and inserting in place thereof the following 10 sentences:-

A tractor, trailer, truck or all-terrain vehicle may be operated without such registration upon any way for a distance not exceeding one-half mile, if said tractor, trailer, truck or all-terrain vehicle is used exclusively for agricultural purposes consistent with section 1A of chapter 128, or between one-half mile and 10 miles if said tractor, trailer, truck or all-terrain vehicle is used exclusively for such agricultural purposes and the owner thereof maintains in full force a policy of liability insurance which conforms to the provisions of section one hundred and thirteen A of chapter one hundred and seventy-five or for a distance not exceeding three hundred yards, if such tractor, trailer or truck is used for industrial purposes other than agricultural purposes, for the purpose of going from property owned or occupied by the owner of such tractor, trailer or truck to other property so owned or occupied.

For the purposes of this section, an all-terrain vehicle shall include those vehicles known as a quad, quad bike, three-wheeler, four-wheeler, or quadricycle as defined by the American National Standards Institute. Persons utilizing all-terrain vehicles under these provisions shall annually notify the police department in the municipalities in which they are to operate of the public way and sections of public way on which they operate in the course of agricultural purposes. Failure to provide such notification may result in penalties pursuant to section 20 of chapter 90.

All-terrain vehicles operating under the provisions of this section shall be equipped with a safety flag of not less than 36 square inches in area which shall be elevated to no less than 6 feet from the ground. All-Terrain vehicles must be equipped with a flashing red light mounted to the rear of the vehicle. If designed to travel at 25 mph or less, the vehicle shall display a “slow moving vehicle emblem” compliant with section 7 of chapter 90.

Vehicles traveling on a public way subject to this section, shall be operated by a licensed driver. No all-terrain vehicle may operate on a public way between sunset and sunrise.

No all-terrain vehicle may be operated on a public way for recreational or other purposes except as authorized in this section or in section 25 of Chapter 90B."

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #497 to H4789

Agricultural Use of All Terrain Vehicles on Public Roads