(A) Definitions. For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
LICENSED PERSON. Any person holding a valid Indiana motor vehicle operator's license or a comparable license issued by another state.
LOW SPEED VEHICLE. Any two-, three- or four-wheeled motor-powered vehicle:
(a) With a maximum design speed of not more than 35 miles per hour;
(b) With a maximum weight not to exceed 2,200 pounds; and
(c) With the capacity to transport one or more persons from one place to another or for recreational use.
An example of a LOW SPEED VEHICLE is a golf cart, or other similar type of vehicle.
OFF-ROAD VEHICLE. Any four-wheeled motorized vehicle having either a side-by-side seating arrangement or straddled seating for which the state does not require registration and plating to utilize in going from one place to another for transportation or recreation. The term includes vehicles commonly referred to as all-terrain vehicles (ATV), side-by-side vehicles (SxS), utility task vehicles (UTV), recreational off-highway vehicles, (ROV), or multipurpose off-highway utility vehicles (MOHUV).
PERSONAL ASSIST MOBILITY DEVICE. Any three- or four-wheeled motorized vehicle used to assist medically handicapped persons travel from one place to another.
(B) Permitted uses.
(1) Any low speed or off-road vehicle equipped with headlamps, tail lights, mirror,
top-mounted running light and horn operated by a licensed driver shall be allowed to be utilized as a vehicle for the purposes of transportation or recreational activities in and on the highways under the jurisdiction of the county. Any vehicle that is not equipped with each of the aforesaid items is not permitted on county roads or highways.
(2) No low speed or off-road vehicle may be parked or operated on a highway in the state highway system other than to cross the state highway at a 90 degree angle (right angle) in order to travel from one county roadway to another county roadway and only when the operation can be done safely.
(3) Any person who, by medical prescription, operates a personal assist mobility device in and on the highways of the county shall be allowed as to the benefit only of the prescribed person.
(4) Any permitted use shall still be subject to all state statutes and relevant county ordinances applicable to the operation of motor vehicles, including speed limits and parking restrictions.
(5) The number of passengers permitted on any low speed or off-road vehicle may not exceed the number of passengers recommended by the vehicle's manufacturer.
(6) Where more than one low speed or off-road vehicle is present, they shall ride single file and no single file group shall pass or overtake any motor vehicle.
(7) No low speed or off-road vehicle shall be loaded or unloaded from a stopped or standing motor vehicle on the traveled portion of any county highway.
(8) The operator of a low speed or off-road vehicle shall maintain insurance on the operation of the vehicle in the minimum amounts specified in I.C. 9-25-4-5.
(C) Prohibited uses.
(1) Except as specifically provided in division (B) of this section, the utilization of low speed vehicles, personal assist mobility devices, or off-road vehicles in and on the highways or roadways of the county (including highways in the state highway system) is prohibited where the posted speed limit is above 35 miles per hour and shall be a violation of this chapter. Furthermore, there may be portions of roads or highways in the county system with speed limits of 35 miles per hour or below on which this Board determines such vehicles are prohibited because of excessive regular motorized traffic or usage. Any such prohibition will only be effective when signs giving notice of the prohibition are posted upon or at the entrances to that portion of such county highway or road that is affected.
(2) No low speed or off-road vehicle may be operated on a county highway or roadway after sunset or before sunrise. Any usage of such vehicles in contravention of this time is a violation of this chapter.
(D) Risk. The county makes no representations as to the safety of its highways/roads or the fitness or appropriateness for use of its highways for low speed vehicles, personal assist mobility devices, or off-road vehicles purposes. Any use of low speed vehicles, personal assist mobility devices, or off-road vehicles is done strictly at the risk of the operator and his or her passengers who assume any risks that attend thereto.
(E) Severance provision. Should any part of this chapter be declared invalid, such invalidity shall apply only to the specific section or subsection of the chapter so declared invalid and shall not otherwise affect the balance of the chapter.
(F) Enforcement and penalties.
(1) An officer of the LaPorte County Sheriffs Department may issue a county ordinance violation citation to a person who violates any provision of this chapter.
(2) Any person found in violation of any provision of this chapter shall be fined in a sum not to exceed $2,500. A fine assessed for a violation of this chapter shall be deposited into the county's general fund.
(3) A violation of this chapter that is committed on a state highway by the operator of a low speed or off-road vehicle is an ordinance violation.
(`88 Code, § 6-21) (Ord. 79-3, passed 9-14-81; Am. Ord. 2019-17, passed 12-11-19) Penalty, see § 70.99