Pursuant to this code and this chapter, rules for the regulation and use of snowmobiles must be adopted as follows:

Terms Used In North Dakota Code 39-24-08

  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Organization: includes a foreign or domestic association, business trust, corporation, enterprise, estate, joint venture, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, limited partnership, partnership, trust, or any legal or commercial entity. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • Rule: includes regulation. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49

1. The director shall adopt rules for the registration of snowmobiles and display of registration numbers.

2.    The director has the authority in the interest of public health, welfare, and safety to regulate, restrict, or prohibit, by rule, the operation of snowmobiles on those highways under the director’s jurisdiction. The director’s authority to prohibit the use of snowmobiles is limited to the roadways, shoulders, inslopes, and medians within the right of way, except where such action is necessary to avoid an obstacle. Notwithstanding the racing prohibitions in section 39-08-03.1, the director may, on a case-by-case basis, permit organized and bona fide snowmobile races on the ditch bottoms, backslopes, and the top of the backslopes of the highway rights of way under the director’s jurisdiction. The planning, organization, route selection, and safety precautions of any such race are the sole responsibility of the permittee. It is expressly provided that the director, and the department and the employees thereof, shall incur no liability whatsoever for permitting such races.

3.    The director of the parks and recreation department shall adopt rules for regulating use of snowmobiles in state parks and other state-owned land under the supervision of the director of the parks and recreation department.

4.    The governing bodies of political subdivisions shall promulgate rules and regulations for regulating use of snowmobiles in recreation and other appropriate areas under their jurisdiction. The governing bodies of cities may, by ordinance, regulate, restrict, and prohibit the use of snowmobiles when operated within the exclusive jurisdiction of cities.