Connecticut General Statutes 14-40a – Motorcycle endorsement or motorcycle endorsement with three-wheeled restriction. Motorcycle instruction permit. Examination. Military waiver
(a) No person shall operate a motorcycle on any public highway of this state until such person has obtained a motor vehicle operator‘s license with a motorcycle endorsement from the commissioner.
Attorney's Note
Under the Connecticut General Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Class D misdemeanor | up to 30 days | up to $250 |
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 14-40a
- Commissioner: includes the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles and any assistant to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles who is designated and authorized by, and who is acting for, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles under a designation. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
- Drive: means to drive, operate or be in physical control of a motor vehicle, including a motor vehicle being towed by another. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Highway: includes any state or other public highway, road, street, avenue, alley, driveway, parkway, place or dedicated roadway for bus rapid transit service, under the control of the state or any political subdivision of the state, dedicated, appropriated or opened to public travel or other use. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
- Motor vehicle: means any vehicle propelled or drawn by any nonmuscular power, except aircraft, motor boats, road rollers, baggage trucks used about railroad stations or other mass transit facilities, electric battery-operated wheel chairs when operated by persons with physical disabilities at speeds not exceeding fifteen miles per hour, golf carts operated on highways solely for the purpose of crossing from one part of the golf course to another, golf-cart-type vehicles operated on roads or highways on the grounds of state institutions by state employees, agricultural tractors, farm implements, such vehicles as run only on rails or tracks, self-propelled snow plows, snow blowers and lawn mowers, when used for the purposes for which they were designed and operated at speeds not exceeding four miles per hour, whether or not the operator rides on or walks behind such equipment, motor-driven cycles, as defined in §. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
- Motorcycle: means (A) an autocycle, as defined in this section, or (B) a motor vehicle, with or without a side car, that has (i) not more than three wheels in contact with the ground, (ii) a saddle or seat which the rider straddles or a platform on which the rider stands, and (iii) handlebars with which the rider controls the movement of the vehicle. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
- Operator: means any person who operates a motor vehicle or who steers or directs the course of a motor vehicle being towed by another motor vehicle and includes a driver. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, limited liability company, association, copartnership, company, firm, business trust or other aggregation of individuals but does not include the state or any political subdivision thereof, unless the context clearly states or requires. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
- State: means any state of the United States and the District of Columbia unless the context indicates a more specific reference to the state of Connecticut. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
- United States: means the fifty states and the District of Columbia. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
- Vehicle: includes any device suitable for the conveyance, drawing or other transportation of persons or property, whether operated on wheels, runners, a cushion of air or by any other means. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
(b) A person who is sixteen years of age or older and who has not had such a license suspended or revoked may apply to the commissioner for a motorcycle instruction permit. The commissioner may issue a motorcycle instruction permit, containing such limitation as said commissioner deems advisable, to an applicant after the applicant has passed all parts of the examination, other than the driving skills test, for a motor vehicle operator’s license with a motorcycle endorsement as required by subsection (c) of this section. The motorcycle instruction permit shall entitle the applicant, while said applicant is in immediate possession of said permit, to drive a motorcycle on the public highways, other than multiple lane limited access highways, for a period of sixty days. A motorcycle instruction permit may be renewed, or a new permit issued, for an additional period of sixty days. Each applicant issued a motorcycle instruction permit shall, while operating a motorcycle, wear protective headgear of a type which conforms to the minimum specifications established by regulations adopted under subsection (b) of § 14-289g.
(c) Before granting a motorcycle endorsement or motorcycle endorsement with a three-wheeled restriction to any applicant who has not held such an endorsement at any time within the preceding two years, the commissioner shall require the applicant to present evidence satisfactory to the commissioner that such applicant has successfully completed a novice motorcycle or three-wheeled motorcycle training course conducted by the Department of Transportation with federal funds available for the purpose of such course, or by any firm or organization that conducts such a course that uses the curriculum of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation or other safety or educational organization that has developed a curriculum approved by the commissioner. If such applicant has not obtained a motorcycle instruction permit pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the applicant shall also pass an examination, other than the driving skills test, demonstrating that the applicant is a proper person to operate a motorcycle, has sufficient knowledge of the mechanism of a motorcycle to ensure its safe operation by such applicant, and has satisfactory knowledge of the law concerning motorcycles and other motor vehicles and the rules of the road. The commissioner may waive the requirement of such examination for any applicant who presents documentation that such applicant: (1) Is on active military duty with the armed forces of the United States; (2) is stationed outside the state; and (3) completed a novice motorcycle training course conducted by any firm or organization using the curriculum of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation not earlier than two years prior to the date of such applicant’s application. When the commissioner is satisfied as to the ability and competency of the applicant, the commissioner may issue an endorsement to such applicant, either unlimited or containing such limitations as the commissioner deems advisable. An applicant who has completed a three-wheeled motorcycle training course shall be limited to an endorsement with a restriction, as provided in subsection (c) of § 14-36a, indicating that such applicant is limited to the operation of a three-wheeled motorcycle. If an applicant or motorcycle endorsement holder has any health problem which might affect such person’s ability to operate a motorcycle safely, the commissioner may require the applicant or endorsement holder to demonstrate personally that, notwithstanding the problem, such person is a proper person to operate a motorcycle, and the commissioner may further require a certificate of the applicant’s condition, signed by a medical authority designated by the commissioner, which certificate shall, in all cases, be treated as confidential by the commissioner. An endorsement containing such limitation as the commissioner deems advisable may be issued or renewed in any case, but nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the commissioner from refusing an endorsement, either limited or unlimited, to any person or suspending an endorsement of a person whom the commissioner deems incapable of safely operating a motorcycle.
(d) No person shall operate a motorcycle in any manner in violation of the limitations imposed in a limited endorsement issued to such person.
(e) Any person who violates any provision of subsection (a), (b) or (d) of this section shall, for a first offense, be deemed to have committed an infraction and be fined fifty dollars and, for any subsequent offense, be guilty of a class D misdemeanor.
(f) As used in this section, the terms “motorcycle” and “three-wheeled motorcycle” do not include “autocycle”, as defined in § 14-1.