MOTOCYCLER's BBS

The American Motorcyclist Association
URL for this article: www.amadirectlink.com/news/2007/PR.asp

Posted September 7, 2007  

Puerto Rico passes strict new law regulating motorcyclists

Where can you find the strictest government regulations on motorcyclists in the United States? Not in any of the 50 states, but in the U.S.territory of Puerto Rico.

A measure recently signed into law by the governor of Puerto Rico will require riders to wear not only a helmet, but also gloves, boots, and long pants. After dark, riders must wear a reflective vest, and the law also tightens age restrictions on riders and imposes new testing requirements. In some ways, the law is even more restrictive than the requirements on many U.S. military bases.

Legislative sponsors said the law was a response to increasing numbers of motorcycle fatalities on the Caribbean island.

Between 2000 and 2005, the number of motorcycles and scooters registered in Puerto Rico more than doubled. Several factors encourage motorcycle use, including the year-round riding weather and the congestion of nearly 4 million residents on a 3,500-square-mile island. In general, gasoline is slightly more expensive than in the 50 states, while average household incomes are lower than in any of the states. In that environment, sales of inexpensive Chinese-built scooters have boomed in recent years as more residents in the crowded San Juan metropolitan area turned to them for affordable and fun transportation, in addition to steady sales of full-size motorcycles.

"This considerable increase in the purchase and use of motorcycles as an alternative means of transportation has brought with it an unprecedented increase in motorcycle accidents, and, at the same time, a dramatic increase in deaths from those accidents," the legislation states.

The new requirements include:

§                         Puerto Rico already required helmet use, but the new law also requires gloves, boots that cover the ankles, and long pants. Between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., riders and passengers must wear a reflective vest.

§                         Riders must be 18 years of age, and passengers must be at least 12.

§                         New riders must pass a test on the first try to obtain a motorcycle endorsement. If they do not pass, they have to take a government-approved training course.

§                         The law adds motorcyclists to the list of school bus drivers, truck drivers, and heavy equipment operators who are subject to a legal blood-alcohol limit of 0.02 percent, instead of the 0.08 percent limit applied to car drivers.

§                         The law specifically prohibits lane-sharing, an accepted practice in Puerto Rico that can easily cut in half the time of a rush-hour commute in the San Juan area.

§                         The law imposes an additional $10 charge for taking the motorcycle endorsement test and an additional $10 charge for renewing an annual motorcycle registration.

The law takes effect in October. It calls for the creation of eight training centers around the island to license new riders and budgets $250,000 to start the program. But it's not likely the centers will be running by the time the law takes effect.

Owners of currently registered motorcycles are allowed to continue riding, but will have to comply with the new licensing requirements when they renew their drivers licenses.

The law essentially moves Puerto Rico from having less stringent regulations than most states to having more restrictive requirements than any of the 50 states. Previously, motorcyclists in Puerto Rico were not required to pass a riding test and get a motorcycle endorsement unless they wanted to use the island's toll highways.