Why are 4 wheelers illegal for street use?

CN Spots

CN Spots

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Oct 19, 2005
Messages
1,612
In AZ they CAN be licensed as a motor vehicle (as long as they comply with DOT requirements). So why not everywhere? Scooters are accepted in most states, -I think Arkansas is still holding out on legalizing them until gun racks & winches are standard equipment, so why not 4 wheelers?

I know the big knobby wheeled versions would be a bear on asphalt but I have seen some outfitted with street tires and a lower suspension that appeared to be handling fine.

I'm not a 4 wheeler owner so excuse me if the answer is obvious. I'm just curious:confused: Do they get lousy mpg? Are they impossibly unstable at highway speeds? Even if they were restricted from Interstate use could they not be a viable, safe mode of transportation with a responsible operator and a few modifications? Thoughts?
 
SpinnerBait_Nut

SpinnerBait_Nut

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Aug 25, 2002
Messages
17,651
Re: Why are 4 wheelers illegal for street use?

I can and do run mine on the road as a farm vehicle.
We are allowed to ride them 1/2 mile each way from where we enter the road at to where we get off the road.
And yes, they can and are very unstable at speed.
The steering is so quick, it makes them dangerous if you make a quick turn.
My new 700 FI Grizzly has electric power steering and it's real touchy on the hardtop.
The asphalt will eat the knobby tires up pretty quick also.
 
Kiwi Phil

Kiwi Phil

Commander
Joined
Jun 23, 2003
Messages
2,182
Re: Why are 4 wheelers illegal for street use?

My kid has had a Yamaha Raptor 80 since he was 6.
They are very dangerous.
Do a hard turn and they will flip corner to corner, and they are surprisingly heavy, so you don't want to be under one.
Excellant farm machine though.
Cheers
Phillip
 
jay_merrill

jay_merrill

Vice Admiral
Joined
Dec 5, 2007
Messages
5,653
Re: Why are 4 wheelers illegal for street use?

Interesting machine but I can think of a lot better things to do with $50,000!
 
G

gcboat

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
May 29, 2007
Messages
1,822
Re: Why are 4 wheelers illegal for street use?

I don't know about anybody else but who would want to deal with those on the road? If you think jet skis are a pain just imagine what several of them would do to your daily commute.
 
tysonnathan

tysonnathan

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 2, 2008
Messages
246
Re: Why are 4 wheelers illegal for street use?

I think four wheelers should be road legal. I have ridden them on black top all my life and have always felt comfortable doing so... I feel just as safe as on my motorcycle... if not more. Comfortably up to 75-80 mph. If I am allowed to operate a 49cc moped on the highway I think I should be allowed to run a four wheeler.
Why would they be difficult to deal with on the road??? My racing four wheeler can keep up with interstate traffic w/o a problem. No different than a motorcycle..
 
SnappingTurtle

SnappingTurtle

Lieutenant
Joined
May 4, 2008
Messages
1,251
Re: Why are 4 wheelers illegal for street use?

CN Spots said:
I ran across this in research...


http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/Article_Page.aspx?ArticleID=3598&Page=1

The article is old but the principal is more along the lines of what I think they could evolve into. Looks like a blast!:D
Click to expand...

Not a Quad, but similar, made for road use, and you can have one today.

The Bombardier can-am Spyder

studio1_1024_en.jpg


Can you see the difference in design?

Form follows function! :cool:
 
JCF350

JCF350

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Oct 21, 2007
Messages
1,149
Re: Why are 4 wheelers illegal for street use?

1 Can't pass safety tests
2 Can't pass equipment tests
3 99 percent of the operators are TOOPID!!

Reason number 3 is why a lot of counties in Fl. opted out of allowing them on the roads dirt or paved.:p
 
aspeck

aspeck

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
May 29, 2003
Messages
19,100
Re: Why are 4 wheelers illegal for street use?

Were you ever driving on the road when you came upon a 4wheeler on the road? We get about 6 - 10 calls a year for accidents: 4 Wheeler verses car. They are lower and much harder to see.

I like them, and enjoy riding them, but not on the road.
 
SpinnerBait_Nut

SpinnerBait_Nut

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Aug 25, 2002
Messages
17,651
Re: Why are 4 wheelers illegal for street use?

To answer the question, they were not made to be ran on the highway.
 
CN Spots

CN Spots

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Oct 19, 2005
Messages
1,612
CN Spots

CN Spots

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Oct 19, 2005
Messages
1,612
Re: Why are 4 wheelers illegal for street use?

aspeck said:
Were you ever driving on the road when you came upon a 4wheeler on the road? We get about 6 - 10 calls a year for accidents: 4 Wheeler verses car. They are lower and much harder to see.

I like them, and enjoy riding them, but not on the road.
Click to expand...

They are higher than scooters and most choppers... I'll bet most of the f wheelers in those accidents didn't have tail lights or turn signals. Few do. They are quite a bit larger than a motorcycle (width wise).

Regarding the handling: I bet if you made just an abrupt of a turn with a motor cycle, the result would be just as unfortunate.

I view them kinda like highway jet-skis. A bad operator with a good machine will always equal a negative outcome. But like jet-skis, I have seen good operators. I think this is more of a case of a few bad apples spoiling the bunch before they even made it home from the grocery store.
 
aspeck

aspeck

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
May 29, 2003
Messages
19,100
Re: Why are 4 wheelers illegal for street use?

Spots, you are right ... no lights. But they do sit lower then a scooter and cycle. Most of the accidents we encounter are truck or SUV into a 4 wheeler. The vehicle would top a hill or round a curve and never see them because the 4 wheeler was below their line of vision. This is not a scientific study, just an observation from scraping people off the road. If they were made a little higher, and a little more visible, I would be in favor of them being licensed. But then again, if they are made higher, then they are more top heavy and difficult to handle ...

They would make a more efficient short haul commuter vehicle, if they could be made visible and safer for highway use.
 
waterinthefuel

waterinthefuel

Commander
Joined
Nov 15, 2003
Messages
2,728
Re: Why are 4 wheelers illegal for street use?

By design a 4 wheeler is extremely top heavy and ready to flip. On dirt, at least, the tires can slip a little and the speeds tend to be slow(er). On concrete, the tires would grip and cause the machine to flip quite easily. Combine that with high speeds and you've got a recipe for disaster.

Don't compare motorcycles and 4 wheelers for road use. It's worse than apples and oranges, more like apples and donuts.
 
SnappingTurtle

SnappingTurtle

Lieutenant
Joined
May 4, 2008
Messages
1,251
Re: Why are 4 wheelers illegal for street use?

A Jeep is not made for a road course, a Porsche or Corvette is. A Porsche or Corvette is not great in the snow or for pulling and climbing, a Jeep is.

The new breed of vehicles that try to do all things a little, do none of them well. Not a car, not a truck, not a van, not a stationwagen, not a offroader, not a sports car, it's a Crossover/SUV!

All vehicles are made, or should be made for a specific purpose (to do something well), and should be driven accordingly when not performing this specific purpose.

To fail to use your brain when driving any vehicle in a environment that it is not designed to operate in, is dangerous in the hand of amateurs. We all have motor vehicles, but very, very few of us could ever be considered expert drivers. We are surrounded by bad to mediocre drivers everyday on the road.

That said, a Quad can only be as safe as the brain controlling it at the best of times. At the worst of times with no brain involved, any vehicle is dangerous. The most dangerous thing that a can happen on or off the road, is over confidence, combined with ignorance.

It doesn't matter if it is a Offroad Quad or a Lamborghini.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top