Hello, my name is Kevin Clark and I have written to the governor of Vermont and several state senators and  representatives over the last 4 years with very little feedback from them so I have taken to change.org to make a petition to pass around. 

I believe that the state of Vermont should legalize “side by side” vehicles, also known as UTVs, for road use, restriction should apply to UTVs 700cc and smaller, and should not be allowed to travel the interstate highways. Last time I wrote I had compiled a list of states that allowed UTVs to become street legal, but I have since found that the list was from 2015 and consisted of 21 states that allow for street legal UTVs. That number has now grown to 28 states allowing people to make a UTV street legal. 

The process and requirements in the states that allow UTVs to be converted for road use are pretty much the same across the board and I believe they should be used to draft a bill for Vermont. Required modifications include, but are not limited to: full length hard windshield, windshield wiper/washer system, at least one rear view mirror, headlights, tail lights, brake lights, turn signals, license plate holder and light, DOT approved tires and a horn. Some of the state have requirements for seat belts which I am sure Vermont would need because of the already existing automotive seat belt laws and ALL commercially available UTVs come from factory with seat belts, the vast majority of which have a speed limiter set to 5 MPH when the drivers seat belt is not latched. All of the above required equipment is easily available through several aftermarket companies such as SuperATV and through the UTV manufacturer accessory catalog. 

I believe these machines are safer than some vehicles that are already allowed on the roads in Vermont. The Polaris Slingshot is, for all intents and purposes, a UTV with 3 wheels instead of 4, NO rollover protection AT ALL, NO windshield or wiper system and EXTREMELY limited rear sight lines using only the side mounted mirrors, you can not see over your shoulder in a slingshot. The Campagna T-Rex is another 3 wheeled vehicle that is allowed on Vermont roads. It is VERY similar to a UTV in that it has all the same controls as a UTV and has a roll cage design very similar to that of a Arctic Cat Wildcat UTV. There are SO many companies now making 3 wheeled vehicles like the Vanderhall Edison and Speedster, Morgan 3-Wheeler and the Scorpion P6 just to circumvent crash testing regulations by calling them an auto cycle. None of the vehicles have roll over protection, are very narrow in wheel width, and only have three wheels which is inherently more dangerous than a vehicle with 4 wheels. Yet, all of them are legal for Vermont roads because they fit the Vermont definition of auto cycle by having 3 wheels. 

State allowing UTVs to become street legal are classifying then as a “quadracycle” or redefining auto cycle as being a 3 OR 4 wheeled vehicle designed to be operated from a bucket seat using a steering wheel and pedals. 

As it stands right now with current Vermont laws, a motorcycle registration costs $48 and covers conventional motorcycles, three wheeled motorcycles and auto cycles (two front wheels and one rear wheel). With that $48 registration fee, a motorcycle can travel on ANY road in the state that a motor vehicle is permitted on. Currently, a UTV falls under ATV registration which costs $45. That Vermont registration means absolutely nothing right now with new VASA laws that were passed last year. New laws require ALL ATVs to be both state registered ($45) AND VASA registered ($60 for residents) if used anywhere other than your own property, including private property that the operator has written permission to be on. Previously VASA was only required when operating on VASA trails. So in total it costs $105 for people to register and use their UTVs and they are only permitted on private property with landowner consent, the VERY limited roads that select towns have opened for ATV use, and VASA trails. If all the VASA trails and all town roads open for ATV travel are combined together, it is still less miles than the trails in just Coos county, New Hampshire alone.

Another point to make in legalizing UTVs for road use is the Vermont ATV definition. As it stands, Vermont defines a ATV as: (a) 2 or more low pressure tires under 10psi; (b) Dry weight under 2500 pounds; (c) Width both greater than 64”. This affects me personally now since I have bought a new machine in July that the dealership registered as an ATV but it does not fit ANY of the criteria for an ATV in this state. My machine came stock with tires that are recommended to be set at 25 PSI with a tire inflation decal to prove it just like a car or truck has. It currently sits on 31x10.5R15 LT truck tires. It also is just a smidge under 70” wide, it’s as long as a Chevrolet Suburban and actually has a 5” longer wheel base than a Chevrolet Suburban and it is for sure over 2500 pounds because my old machine was a 2 seat and narrower version of the same vehicle (the new one is 4 seats) and that was 2250 pounds. I had a chat with DMV today trying to see what I could do about registering it as an auto cycle since it’s fits almost all of the auto cycle definition and NONE of the ATV definition. The call ended with them telling me my machine is not legal for the state at all and they asked for my registration and license plate to be mailed back to them. Now I have a $40,000 machine that I can’t use here because it doesn’t fit in the trails, I can’t register it in the state which means I cant even use it on frozen bodies of water in winter, and I’m not allowed to drive it on the road where it would be a much safer alternative to something like a Polaris slingshot. I’m not alone in this problem either. I work for a power sports dealership and I have seen too many machines to count that technically fall outside of the states definition of ATV but it’s never questioned by DMV when the dealership sends the paperwork in. 

I really believe that a bill for legalizing UTVs is not something that is far fetched, especially since over half the states in the country have allowed it. I am not one of the people who thinks all ATVs should be allowed on road either. I feel that a good cut off point is for machines 700cc and less to be excluded because those machines can either no physically achieve a 50 mph speed or those that can are not stable enough to safely maintain that speed. All UTVs larger than 700cc are capable of safely and stably maintaining a 50 mph speed. I believe they should be restricted from using the interstate highway all together, same as in all the other states that have legalized road use of UTVs. 

I thank you for taking the time to read this and I sincerely hope we can bring about a change in Vermont that will bring us up to speed with over half of the country.