Side-By-Side "UTV" Proliferation

Lately, I've noticed quite a few unlicensed side-by-side "UTVs" driving all over the place in rural areas, like golf carts at The Villages. It looks like you can stick one of those reflective triangles on the back, and do all your in-town errand-running and visiting that way, because "I'm a farmer," or something.

Here in Illinois, the law defines an ATV as weighing less than 900 lbs. So I guess a UTV is a truck? Or they haven't been categorized yet? Are they operating in some kinda loophole? [derek]I donnn't knooow.[/derek] All I know is that they don't have plates ($150/year, here) and I see whole families going out for ice cream and beer runs in the things. Cops don't care.

I'm not jealous, honest (maybe a little bit). I just wonder what happens when an unlicensed UTV is involved in a multi-vehicle accident. And I keep thinking that if they can drive their 75mph UTV to the store without having to pay Illinois' exorbitant license and registration fees, I'd like to do the same with another vehicle of similar or less performance: Model A; MG Midget; home-built micro-car; Whatever... 

It just ain't fair.

Here I am surrounded by Dutch owned farms and the kids all travel between them on quads. No plates or insurance, no helmets and no mufflers. I was driving home a while ago and a little blonde girl in a dress did a high speed 180 in the road in front of me and I feared for her life. There was a lot of scraping noises a while ago and I walked out to the road to see a couple of them had rolled one into the ditch. But they don't learn and they don't slow down. They seem to have none of the fear of cops I had when I was a kid sneaking down a stretch of asphalt to get to the next field.

Sounds like a loophole that likely will be filled when an ice cream getting family gets flattened by an F150.

Could be worse.  Apparently the inner city thing is racing around on ATV's and dirt bikes.

I remember seeing ads for UTV's and noticing that not only are they rather expensive, they are rather tall and thin with sloppy suspensions.... not many months later I remember seeing adds of lawyers looking for people injured in rollovers in UTVs....

In some areas they're allowed for limited use on secondary roads as farm vehicle or ATV, but in many other areas people are just ignoring the rules.

Have you seen the price of a 4 seater? Might as well be a truck.

My local Polaris/Indian dealer stays in business because of those things.

There was a news report in the Minneapolis newspaper this morning about an 11 year old girl who was injured and a 7 year old boy who died in a side-by-side UTV rollover crash in rural Minnesota; another 11 year old girl was driving, none of them were wearing helmets or seat belts.

ddavidv said:

My local Polaris/Indian dealer stays in business because of those things.

The profit/maintenance on them is keeping a bunch of dealers open. They are the thing that people want to own. Put a big stereo on and send your 14 year old cruising down the gravel roads with his/her friends. It's the 80's all over again, but bigger. 

I'll go with, Meh. I think they should be street legal. I do think a driver's license should be required to drive them. 

I have a Polaris Ranger 800 I picked up for $1000 in pieces. I have driven it around the neighborhood a few times, but for the most part, it lives on the family farm and gets used as a work vehicle. It is probably no less crash-worthy than my Samurai and is actually a little bigger. Before I bought one new for $13k, I'd buy a small pickup. 

You can register them for the road in a lot of places. They can go anywhere a moped can (no interstate). I'm in TN so the ATV trail right along the road is old hat. 

In some ways, I like the grey area that allows a motorized/electric bicycle that can break the speed limit to fly under the insurance/licensing radar.

around here they are a status symbol.  My understanding by law they are allowed to be used on the roads but only for going from home to YOUR farm property and not for running errands.   However I see them all the time at softball games, gas station getting beer, outside the local watering hole, grocery store, etc.   whole families riding around without any seatbelts, car seats, helmets, etc.   I live in a neighborhood and the number of these is crazy and I know most of these people don't have farms in the area.  Some perfectly capable people even use them for walking their dogs.  

They a good tool for on a farm or in the country, but that is where they should stay.   I don't understand the desire to have one just for running errands.  I guess I am too cheap to spend that kind of money on something when I have a truck and a car that can run the same errands in more comfort.    

They're a nuisance.  I get the appeal, I do, they're cool as hell, and I'd love bombing across the dunes or whoops on a dirt track with one just as much as the next guy.

The problem is, any mouth breather with a pulse and willing to sign a 14% interest 10 year note, can drive a turbo monster off the lot.

Used to be most folks had to "build" a Jeep, Samurai, Toyota, etc. learn to wheel, break stuff, fix stuff.  Until they had a capable rig, and had developed skills of driving and navigating obstacles along the way.

Now it's a credit card swipe, and the greenest of novices is behind the wheel of a machine that far surpasses their skill set, and by-damns, they're going "Jeeping!"

Of course, they're going to stick light bars as bright as 10x suns that are always on, and a sound system that could roll into any SPL contest and walk away with a trophy, before they go Jeeping. 

They're a plague and ruining off roading.  They're getting bad enough in Moab that a lot of places in Utah are restricting or out right banning them.

The local club that hosts one of the larger off road events in the state, had banned all ATVs for years, but as attendance dwindled, they lifted the ban, and now there are more SxSs than 4x4 trucks/suvs/buggies.

Maybe I'm becoming my cranky old uncle, who thinks seat belts are for weenies, and everything should be carbureted!  You kids get off my lawn!!!

We can drive them on our town roads, but with a County road connecting our road to the rest of the town's roads, its keeps us from running down to the local gas station and such.

I live in a rural farming community of 6k people. We do own ag acreage and actually make money off of it, so I did consider registering the UTV as a farm UTV, but didnt want a hassle if I got called out on it.

In AZ they can be made street legal.  As long as their lights aren't too bright they really don't bother me as they are being driven by licensed drivers.  It's the way they are ripping up the trails that gets to me.

What was once a decent climbing trail in my 4Runner is now impassible because the SxS have gone ripping up the trail in 2wd with their rear wheels spinning and tearing out the dirt and rocks (think football sized and bigger) so that now the huge boulder under all of that is exposed and is now a two-plus foot step up that I don't have the ground clearance for.  They have been closing trails near me because of the over-use which can be pretty much all be attributed to the side-by-sides.  Some of these trails are old mining trails that have been there for 150 years and within just the last five years are now all torn up.  Sad.

When I see the sticker price, and then see one towed behind a new diesel pickup by a guy I know drives a dump truck for a living, I consider the pitfalls of easy credit.

I don't think they are legal in most situations they are being used in.  But I think it's like Uber/AirBNB where if enough people ignore the laws together it becomes ok.  It is illegal in my town to use Golf Carts SXS etc but every night 2-3 golf carts loaded up with 4-8 kids go zipping by.  

nocones said:

I don't think they are legal in most situations they are being used in.  But I think it's like Uber/AirBNB where if enough people ignore the laws together it becomes ok.  It is illegal in my town to use Golf Carts SXS etc but every night 2-3 golf carts loaded up with 4-8 kids go zipping by.  

Yeah this is my understanding. With the triangle (slow moving vehicle symbol) on the back you're supposed to be driving on the shoulder, below a certain speed, and maybe only on certain roads. Depending on jurisdiction they're either street legal or they're not and the triangle is not a free pass to drive one on the street like a car anywhere AFAIK.

The issue of putting total noobs with more money than sense into miniature Ultra4 Unlimited rigs is a real problem as well.

hmmmmm. If I can get f-dat below the 900 lbs limit... maybe I can drive it around on the streets?

They're ruining the trails out here in Colorado.  Mostly driven by drunk out of staters who don't know trail etiquette.  Multiple mountain towns have made them illegal for street use because they were so much of a nuisance.

bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) said:

When I see the sticker price, and then see one towed behind a new diesel pickup by a guy I know drives a dump truck for a living, I consider the pitfalls of easy credit.

I bought a pit bike recently. The guy was probably 40, 4 kids, 4 race bikes, an enclosed trailer, 4x4 RAM, and a side by side in his back yard that was probably worth more than my late model car. I said, you must have a good job. Nope, just a factory worker.

They're really cool, but even if I wanted one, in no way could I justify the cost for what you can do with it.

Regarding their legality, if it's anything like it is around here, you never see cops any more. I don't know what they do, or where they go but we have more than we've ever had, and I see them less than any time in my life. I'm OK with that

There's a facebook group dedicated to spreading word of a loophole in the law that allows a sxs owner to legally tag it.  You create an LLC in Montana.  With the Montana LLC, you can register your sxs as a "quadracycle" in Montana.  In any state that has "reciprocity" with Montana, your quadracycle is now technically a street legal vehicle.  However, there are a lot of posts in the group where people are finding the local law enforcement is not real keen on the idea.  

I have a South Dakota tag on my sxs, but I don't go out looking to test the local cops.   South Dakota tags can be gotten very easily just by contacting their DMV.  but, technically, they're only good for 30 days (in my state of FL).

Go to Gatlinburg.  They are rented to tourists who run them up and down the strip with stereos on max and sunglasses worn upside down on the backs of their heads.  Cops didn't seem to care, can't get in the way of the almighty tourist dollar.

Lee said:

The problem is, any mouth breather with a pulse and willing to sign a 14% interest 10 year note, can drive a turbo monster off the lot.

Used to be most folks had to "build" a Jeep, Samurai, Toyota, etc. learn to wheel, break stuff, fix stuff.  Until they had a capable rig, and had developed skills of driving and navigating obstacles along the way.

Now it's a credit card swipe, and the greenest of novices is behind the wheel of a machine that far surpasses their skill set

Same thing is true with trucks that can tow 30k lbs, or cars/SUVs with 700+hp, or EVs that weigh 2.5 tons and run silent 10 second quarter miles. It's crazy what a novice can get their hands on these days.

I looked up the rules in IL. According to what I understand, they are not legal on the roads anywhere in IL - unless specifically allowed by the local municipality. Titles seem to be available if you want to get one for your UTV, but license plates or registration isn't a thing (see not legal on roads). It does look like you would be responsible for insurance on ANYTHING you drive on the roads, which I'm betting most skip. 

I'm currently mentally struggling with the $118 annual trailer reg fee in IL. Looks like I should just get a UTV and pull it around behind my truck instead. 

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :

Register the trailer in Maine? $60 for 5 years