If you’re tired of driving your UTV from place to place, you might want to head to the southeast. South Carolina will soon allow side-by-sides on public roads, joining a group of neighboring states including Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee that have already made UTVs street legal.
Recently signed by Governor Henry McMaster and set to go into effect November 22. bill 222 Explicitly legalizes driving UTVs on public roads, and establishes rules and regulations for owners to follow (hat tip). utv driver To find out). Those rules start with mandatory safety equipment for vehicles operating on public roads, including seat belts, headlights, turn signals, brake lights, and windshields (or approved eye protection worn by the driver and passengers).
Drivers must also be at least 17 years of age, with a valid driver’s license and insurance, and must register any vehicle driven on public roads in the state. UTVs also will not be allowed on interstate highways, and will be limited to 55 mph on any public road where their operation is legal. Because in addition to state regulations, the law gives local governments the ability to set rules for operating UTVs, as well as speed limits, curfews, and noise restrictions.
South Carolina law is similar to that of the Southern states listed above. All have made UTVs street legal with few restrictions, which is fair considering that the rules for both drivers and vehicles also apply to passenger cars and anything that uses public roads. To date, UTVs are also road legal in Arizona, Idaho, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
It’s easy to see the thinking here. Modern UTVs are approaching cars in performance, space, and features. In another era, the Mahindra Roxor would have been considered a car. It’s derived from the license-built Jeep CJ model in India (hence the long legal battle between Mahindra and Jeep) and it’s not even the most capable UTV available. And while we disagree with some automakers’ positioning of UTVs as the future of affordable recreational “cars,” it’s clear that, in some areas, there is a group of owners who want to use them as more than just farm equipment or off-road toys.
That being said, UTVs are not engineered to the same safety and emissions standards as passenger cars. The same can be said about motorcycles, but it is unlikely that two-wheelers will be considered alternatives to cars. And many people choosing vehicles that are less safe and cause more pollution will not be a good thing.
