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2009 Iowa Attorney General Reports and Opinions 1 (2009)

handle is hein.sag/sagia0012 and id is 1 raw text is: MOTOR VEHICLES: Motorized Bicycles. Iowa Code Chapter 321: §§ 321.1, 321.234, 321.382 (2009). A bicycle is not a vehicle or motor vehicle. An individual may lawfully ride bicycles that meet the definition in Iowa Code section 321.1(40)(c)(2) on the streets and highways in this State. A bicyclist may ride a section 321.1(40)(c)(2) bicycle on the highways of the State regardless of whether the bicyclist can proceed up a three percent grade on dry concrete pavement at a minimum speed of twenty miles per hour, with or without the use of the electric motor. Bicycles that fit into the definition in section 321.1(40)(c)(2) are not required to be licensed or registered. (Baumann to Maynes, Adair County Attorney, 8-12-09) #09-8-1 August 12, 2009 Mr. Michael D. Maynes Adair County Attorney 205 2 East Iowa Street Greenfield, Iowa 50849 Dear Mr. Maynes: You have asked the opinion of our office regarding application of provisions in Iowa Code chapter 321 to motorized bicycles. Specifically, you pose the following questions: does a vehicle that meets the definition of bicycle in Iowa Code section 321.1(40)(c)(2) qualify as a motor vehicle; is it lawful to ride a section 321.1(40)(c)(2) bicycle on the city streets; are bicyclists required to meet the requirements in section 321.382 in order to ride a bicycle on the street or highway; and are there any licensing or registration requirements for a section 321.1(40)(c)(2) bicycle? We address your questions in turn. The first question you pose is whether a section 321.1(40)(c)(2) bicycle qualifies as a motor vehicle? You cite to a 1980 opinion of this office which concludes that a bicycle with an electric motor is a motor vehicle and, if such a bicycle were used in the motorized mode, it could not be operated on the highways of this state if unable to meet the requirements of§ 321.382. See 1980 Op. Att'yGen. 801 (#80-8-14). As you are well-aware, in 1980, there was no distinction between a motorized bicycle and a bicycle with an electric motor of less than one horsepower, as there is now. Therefore, we will revisit the issue. Section 321.1(40)(c)(2) provides that a bicycle can be a device having two or three wheels with fully operable pedals and an electric motor of less than seven hundred fifty watts (one horsepower), whose maximum speed on a paved level surface, when powered solely by such a motor while ridden, is less than twenty miles per hour. Iowa Code § 321.1(40)(c)(2) (2009). This new subsection was added to the law on April 20,

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