MOTORCYCLE REGULATIONS

Information from the County Attorney's Office

By Steven J. Franzen, Campbell County Attorney

Under Kentucky law, there are specific regulations dealing with operators of motorcycles, motorcycle licenses and required equipment as to motorcycles.  Specifically, a person shall not operate a motorcycle on a highway unless that person (i) possesses a valid motorcycle operator’s license, (ii) uses an approved eye protection device at all times whilethe vehicle is in motion and (iii) the motorcycle is equipped with a rear-view mirror. 

An instruction driving permit for a motorcycle can be obtained if a person possesses a regular valid driver’s license or is at least eighteen (18) years of age.  Similar to automobile licenses, an instruction permit for a motorcycle must be used for six (6) months if a person is under twenty-one (21) years of age and for thirty (30) days if over twenty-one (21) years of age.  Also, those under eighteen (18) years of age with instruction permits cannot operate a motorcycle or other motor vehicle between the hours of midnight and 6:00 am unless they can demonstrate good cause for riding, such as an emergency, school function or work.  Moreover, those with motorcycle instruction permits are not permitted to carry passengers.

If a motorcycle is to be operated on a highway, then the motorcycle owner is required to carry at least liability insurance on the motorcycle and to license the vehicle through the County Clerk’s Office.  There is also a provision under the law that a person shall not operate or ride as a passenger on a motorcycle except on a seat permanently attached to the vehicle and specifically designed to carry the operator or the passenger in a safe manner and also while using a foot rest permanently attached to the vehicle and specifically designed to carry that person in a safe manner. 

Since 2000 when the Kentucky Legislature repealed the State’s helmet law, those over twenty-one (21) years of age, who have had a valid motorcycle operator’s license for at least one (1) year are permitted to operate motorcycles without wearing helmets.  Also, passengers over twenty-one (21) years of age can elect not to wear helmets if the operator meets the law’s requirements.  However, it is not recommended under any circumstance and one certainly has to question the wisdom of doing such.  Anyone with only an instruction permit or under the age of twenty-one (21) years of age must wear protective head gear.

If you have any topics you would like to have covered in this column, please contact my office by e-mail at countyattorney@campbellcountyky.org, by phone at 491-7700 or by regular mail addressed to 319 York Street, Newport, Kentucky 41071.

CRIMINAL LITTERING

Information from the County Attorney's Office

By Steven J. Franzen, Campbell County Attorney

We often prosecute cases in District Court for criminal littering when someone throws a bag of trash out of a car window or dumps piles of trash along a city or county road.  Kentucky’s law on criminal littering covers the above situations but also several additional types of littering.  Under Kentucky law, a person is guilty of criminal littering when he:

A) Drops or permits to drop on a highway any destructive or injurious material and does not immediately remove it.  This will occur for instance if a supply company lost some brick or building blocks from a truck and failed to clean it up immediately; or

B) Knowingly places or throws litter on any public or private property or in any public or private water way without permission (e.g., throwing trash out of a window or dumping along a road); or

C) Negligently places or throws glass or other dangerous pointed or edged substances on or adjacent to water to which the public has access for swimming or wading or on or within fifty feet of a public highway; or

D) Discharges sewage, minerals, oil products or litter into any public waters or lakes within the state (e.g., dumping old motor oil into a creek).

Criminal littering under Kentucky law is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and up to a $500 fine.  In addition, we will typically require the Defendant to clean up whatever mess they made and pay any damages to the property owner where the littering occurred. 

The above seems like common sense to the law-abiding community.  Unfortunately, there is always that distinct minority of individuals that do not respect the basic concept of protecting our public property from accumulating trash, debris, or rubbish.  For that distinct minority, this criminal statute exists to hold them accountable. 

If you have any topics you would like to have covered in this column, please contact my office by e-mail at countyattorney@campbellcountyky.org, by phone at 491-7700 or by regular mail addressed to 319 York Street, Newport, Kentucky 41071