ATVs and scooters on public roads

It is the article of Act 22-2000 that says where and how an all-terrain vehicle, autocycle or scooter may be used, and what happens when one is used where the Act does not allow. The penalties are far higher than most people assume, and confiscation is written in the imperative.

The article applies to all-terrain vehicles, Scrambler motorcycles per the manufacturer’s provisions, autocycles and scooters. The minimum age to operate an ATV over one hundred cubic centimetres, in the authorised places, is sixteen with a valid driving licence certificate. The prohibition on travelling paved roads does not apply to ATVs owned by agencies, municipalities or entities of the Government of Puerto Rico or the Federal Government used for law-enforcement functions or for conserving natural resources in protected zones.

• Using it only on land parcels or public facilities designated for their enjoyment, or on private facilities with the owners’ prior authorisation (Article 10.16(a)).Verified against the official source
• To operate an ATV over one hundred (100) cubic centimetres in the authorised places: being sixteen (16) and holding a valid driving licence certificate (Article 10.16(g)).Verified against the official source
• Using at all times the safety equipment the Department of Transportation and Public Works establishes by Regulation (Article 10.16(f)). We did not read that regulation, so we publish no equipment list.Verified against the official source
• To move it: a motor vehicle with loading or towing facilities duly authorised to travel public roads (Article 10.16(e)).Verified against the official source

Information pending verification.

1. 1

   Step 1: Where you may, and where the Act says no

   Article 10.16(a) starts with what is allowed: all-terrain vehicle use “shall be permitted only on land parcels or public facilities designated for their enjoyment or on private facilities with the prior authorisation of their owners”, and those owners are responsible for taking the corresponding safety measures to avoid accidents. And it continues with what is prohibited: all-terrain vehicles, Scrambler motorcycles per the manufacturer’s provisions, autocycles and scooters “may not travel on expressways, state highways or other public roads, state or municipal, that are paved”. The word that draws the line is “paved”.

2. 2

   Step 2: And a second prohibition: protected areas

   The same subsection adds another boundary that has nothing to do with pavement: all-terrain vehicles “may not travel in protected natural areas, such as Natural Reserves, State Forests, Wildlife Refuges and river beds, dune or wetland ecosystems, among other areas, as designated or protected by law, regulation, administrative order or municipal ordinance”. Vehicles used by public officials for public safety or conservation duties in protected zones are excepted. The specific designations live in other laws, regulations and ordinances we did not read, so we publish no map here.

3. 3

   Step 3: No alcohol, and mind the passengers

   Three short rules. Subsection (b): “Transporting alcoholic beverages in all-terrain vehicles is prohibited” — transporting them, not only drinking them. Subsection (c): carrying passengers in an all-terrain vehicle is prohibited “except where that vehicle is designed to carry the number of passengers being carried”; the manufacturer’s design is the limit. And subsection (d): carrying as a passenger in an all-terrain vehicle anyone under sixteen is prohibited.

4. 4

   Step 4: To move it from place to place, on a trailer

   Subsection (e) closes the door on the obvious workaround. Transporting an all-terrain vehicle “across public roads, sidewalks or shoulders, or to move it from one land parcel authorised to operate this type of vehicle to another authorised parcel, shall be carried out using a motor vehicle with loading or towing facilities duly authorised to travel public roads”. That is: even going from one authorised track to another, the ATV travels loaded or towed, not driven.

5. 5

   Step 5: Sixteen and a licence over 100 cc

   Subsection (g) sets the age: the minimum age to operate an all-terrain vehicle with an engine capacity of more than one hundred cubic centimetres, in the places authorised for it, “shall be sixteen (16), provided the driver holds a valid driving licence certificate”. That is two requirements, not one. And the article adds a duty on the officer: “It shall be the duty of every law-enforcement officer to refer a violation of this provision to the Family Department for the corresponding action it establishes by Regulation”. We did not read that regulation.

6. 6

   Step 6: A thousand dollars, and up to five thousand

   Here is what surprises most. Anyone violating subsection (a) — the one on where you may ride — “commits a misdemeanour and, on conviction, shall be fined one thousand (1,000) dollars”. And the fine “may be increased to five thousand (5,000) dollars where aggravating circumstances of negligence are present, or where through reckless imprudence the driver becomes involved in any event producing physical or material harm to another person or their property”. For the remaining subsections — alcohol, passengers, minors, transport, equipment, age — the sanction is an administrative offence with a five hundred dollar fine.

7. 7

   Step 7: Three years for injury, eight for death

   The article escalates. “If as a result of violating this Article another person is caused a physical injury requiring hospitalisation, prolonged treatment, generating permanent damage or mutilating injuries, the driver commits a felony with a fixed term of three (3) years”. And: “If as a result of violating this Article a person’s death is caused, it is a felony with a penalty of eight (8) years”.

8. 8

   Step 8: And the vehicle shall be confiscated

   The article closes with two things. The first connects to Chapter VII: anyone who, in violation of law, drives an ATV on any of Puerto Rico’s public roads or travels them “while intoxicated or under the effects of drugs or controlled substances may have the procedures, tests and penalties described in Chapter VII of this Act applied to them”. The second is the harshest: “Any all-terrain vehicle used in contravention of the provisions of this Act shall be confiscated by law-enforcement officers”, under Act No. 119-2011, the Uniform Confiscations Act. The Act says “shall”, not “may”. We did not read that Act 119-2011, which is what governs how a confiscation is challenged.

There is no procedure: these are rules about where and how to use the vehicle. The stop and the confiscation are carried out by law-enforcement officers; the misdemeanour and the felony are prosecuted by the Ministerio Público before the Court of First Instance. The safety equipment is set by regulation by the Department of Transportation and Public Works, action for riding under the minimum age is referred to the Family Department, and confiscation is governed by Act 119-2011.

• Believing you can use the road “for a short stretch”: the prohibition covers expressways, state highways and other paved public roads, state or municipal.
• Thinking the fine is a traffic one: violating subsection (a) is a misdemeanour with a thousand-dollar fine.
• Not knowing it can rise to five thousand: where aggravating circumstances of negligence or reckless imprudence with harm to another person or their property are present.
• Riding from one authorised track to another: the move must be made on a vehicle with loading or towing facilities authorised to travel public roads.
• Carrying someone under sixteen as a passenger: it is expressly prohibited.
• Carrying more people than allowed: only the number the vehicle was designed for is permitted.
• Carrying beer on the ATV: the Act prohibits transporting alcoholic beverages, not only drinking them.
• Believing being sixteen is enough: over one hundred cubic centimetres a valid driving licence certificate is also needed.
• Entering a state forest, a reserve or a river bed: there is a separate prohibition for protected natural areas.
• Assuming confiscation is discretionary: the Act says the vehicle “shall be confiscated”.
• Thinking intoxication on an ATV does not count: the procedures, tests and penalties of Chapter VII may be applied.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Transportación y Obras Públicas (DTOP)

  DTOP

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov