Street-legal vehicle

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Street-legal, road-legal, or road-going, refers to a vehicle such as a car, motorcycle, or light truck that is equipped and licensed for use on public roads, being therefore roadworthy. This will require specific configurations of lighting, signal lights, and safety equipment. Some specialty vehicles that will not be operated on roads, therefore, do not need all the features of a street-legal vehicle; examples are a vehicle used only off-road (such as a sandrail) that is trailered to its off-road operating area, and a racing car that is used only on closed race tracks and therefore does not need all the features of a street-legal vehicle. As well as motor vehicles, the street-legal distinction applies in some jurisdictions to track bicycles that lack street-legal brakes and lights. Street-legality rules can even affect racing helmets, which possess visual fields too narrow for use on an open road without the risk of missing a fast-moving vehicle. [1]

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The Porsche 911 GT1 '98 "Strassenversion" (German: Roadworthy Version) is a street-legal racing car and a single copy of the racing version, that succeeded at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1998. Porsche 911 GT1 '98 IMG 0834.jpg
The Porsche 911 GT1 '98 "Straßenversion" (German: Roadworthy Version) is a street-legal racing car and a single copy of the racing version, that succeeded at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1998.

Canada

In Canada, all ten provinces follow a consistent set of national criteria issued by Transport Canada for specific equipment required as part of a street-legal vehicle. In some provinces, the Highway Traffic Act is a matter of provincial jurisdiction; provinces with such an Act include Ontario, Manitoba, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Many but not all U.S.-model vehicles do qualify for import to Canada, but must meet requirements for items such as daytime running lights (standard on Canadian-market vehicles since 1991, but not required in the U.S.), anti-theft immobilisers, and anchorage points for child seats. [2] Cars from other countries (such as the UK) typically do not qualify, as standards are too widely divergent from those in Canada. [3]

India

Requirements for manufacturing, registering, and operating motor vehicles in India are codified by the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR), as maintained by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. [4] Street-legal two-, three-, and four-wheeled vehicles must comply with structure, safety equipment, and operating conditions in CMVR 93–125. [5]

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, vehicles must pass the Single Vehicle Approval (SVA) scheme, a pre-registration inspection for cars and light goods vehicles [6] that have not been type-approved to British or European standards. Since August 2001, there have been two levels of SVA, those being 'standard' and 'enhanced'. The standard SVA is applied to vehicles such as left-hand drive vehicles, personally imported vehicles, amateur-built vehicles and armoured vehicles, to name a few. Vehicles which do not fall into one of the standard SVA categories  for example a vehicle of right-hand drive   require enhanced SVA in addition to standard SVA inspections. [7]

The SVA is in the process of being replaced by the Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA). [6]

United States

In the United States, the individual states have the authority to determine, by means of statutes and regulations, which types of vehicles are permitted on public streets, as a function of police power. Vehicles that are considered street-legal in the U.S. include automobiles, trucks, and motorcycles. [8] Some vehicles that are not generally sold for on-road driving  such as all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and golf carts   can potentially be adapted for street use, if permitted by state law. [9] [10]

Most requirements for automobiles are largely consistent between U.S. states. [11] A notable exception is California emission control, which has traditionally been more strict than that in other states. [12] Common requirements for automobiles include structure (examples: hood) and safety equipment (examples: headlamps and bumpers). [13]

Common requirements for motorcycles include side view mirrors and a dedicated seat in order to transport a passenger. [14] However, states vary widely on other equipment such as turn signals. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

Motorcycle Two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle

A motorcycle, often called a motorbike, bike, cycle, or trike, is a two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising, sport, and off-road riding. Motorcycling is riding a motorcycle and being involved in other related social activity such as joining a motorcycle club and attending motorcycle rallies.

All-terrain vehicle Light off-road vehicle

An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike, or simply a quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is straddled by the operator, along with handlebars for steering control. As the name implies, it is designed to handle a wider variety of terrain than most other vehicles. Although it is a street-legal vehicle in some countries, it is not street-legal within most states, territories and provinces of Australia, the United States or Canada.

Bumper (car) A bumper is a structure attached to or integrated with the front and rear ends of a motor vehicle

A bumper is a structure attached to or integrated with the front and rear ends of a motor vehicle, to absorb impact in a minor collision, ideally minimizing repair costs. Stiff metal bumpers appeared on automobiles as early as 1904 that had a mainly ornamental function. Numerous developments, improvements in materials and technologies, as well as greater focus on functionality for protecting vehicle components and improving safety have changed bumpers over the years. Bumpers ideally minimize height mismatches between vehicles and protect pedestrians from injury. Regulatory measures have been enacted to reduce vehicle repair costs and, more recently, impact on pedestrians.

Grey import vehicles are new or used motor vehicles and motorcycles legally imported from another country through channels other than the maker's official distribution system. The synonymous term parallel import is sometimes substituted.

Three-wheeler Vehicle with three wheels

A three-wheeler is a vehicle with three wheels. Some are motorized tricycles, which may be legally classed as motorcycles, while others are tricycles without a motor, some of which are human-powered vehicles and animal-powered vehicles.

Daytime running lamp Vehicle lights

A daytime running lamp is an automotive lighting and bicycle lighting device on the front of a roadgoing motor vehicle or bicycle, automatically switched on when the vehicle's handbrake has been pulled down, when the vehicle is in gear, or when the engine is started, emitting white, yellow, or amber light. Their intended use is not to help the driver see the road or their surroundings, but to help other road users identify an active vehicle.

Motorcycle safety

Motorcycle safety is the study of the risks and dangers of motorcycling, and the approaches to mitigate that risk, focusing on motorcycle design, road design and traffic rules, rider training, and the cultural attitudes of motorcyclists and other road users.

Motorized bicycle Bicycle with an attached motor or engine and transmission

A motorized bicycle is a bicycle with an attached motor or engine and transmission used either to power the vehicle unassisted, or to assist with pedalling. Since it sometimes retains both pedals and a discrete connected drive for rider-powered propulsion, the motorized bicycle is in technical terms a true bicycle, albeit a power-assisted one. Typically they are incapable of speeds above 52 km/h (32 mph).

Type approval or certificate of conformity is granted to a product that meets a minimum set of regulatory, technical and safety requirements. Generally, type approval is required before a product is allowed to be sold in a particular country, so the requirements for a given product will vary around the world. Processes and certifications known as 'type approval' in English are generally called 'homologation', or some cognate expression, in other European languages.

Motorcycling Act of riding a motorcycle for transportation or recreation

Motorcycling is the act of riding a motorcycle. For some people, motorcycling may be the only affordable form of individual motorized transportation, and small-displacement motorcycles are the most common motor vehicle in the most populous countries, including India, China and Indonesia.

World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations Working party

The World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations is a working party (WP.29) of the Sustainable Transport Division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). Its responsibility is to manage the multilateral Agreements signed in 1958, 1997 and 1998 concerning the technical prescriptions for the construction, approval of wheeled vehicles as well as their Periodic Technical Inspection and, to operate within the framework of these three Agreements to develop and amend UN Regulations, UN Global Technical Regulations and UN Rules, kind of vehicle regulation.

Motor vehicle registration

Motor vehicle registration is the registration of a motor vehicle with a government authority, either compulsory or otherwise. The purpose of motor vehicle registration is to establish a link between a vehicle and an owner or user of the vehicle. This link might be used for taxation or crime detection purposes. While almost all motor vehicles are uniquely identified by a vehicle identification number, only registered vehicles display a vehicle registration plate and carry a vehicle registration certificate. Motor vehicle registration is different from motor vehicle licensing and roadworthiness certification.

Vehicle inspection Testing for compliance with regulations

Vehicle inspection is a procedure mandated by national or subnational governments in many countries, in which a vehicle is inspected to ensure that it conforms to regulations governing safety, emissions, or both. Inspection can be required at various times, e.g., periodically or on transfer of title to a vehicle. If required periodically, it is often termed periodic motor vehicle inspection; typical intervals are every two years and every year.

Lane splitting Riding between lanes of traffic

Lane splitting is riding a bicycle or motorcycle between lanes or rows of slow moving or stopped traffic moving in the same direction. It is sometimes called whitelining, or stripe-riding. This allows riders to save time, bypassing traffic congestion, and may also be safer than stopping behind stationary vehicles.

Japanese used vehicle exporting

Japanese used vehicle exporting is a grey market international trade involving the export of used cars and other vehicles from Japan to other markets around the world since the 1980s.

Wildfire (motor company) Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

Wildfire Motors was a company based in Steubenville, Ohio, specializing in the sales of scooters, motorcycles, ATVs, cyclecars, and electric vehicles. The vehicles are manufactured in China and are distributed throughout the United States.

Roadworthiness or streetworthiness is a property or ability of a car, bus, truck or any kind of automobile to be in a suitable operating condition or meeting acceptable standards for safe driving and transport of people, baggage or cargo in roads or streets, being therefore street-legal.

Racing helmet

A racing helmet is a form of protective headgear worn by racing car and rally drivers. Motor racing has long been known to be an exceptionally risky sport: sudden deceleration forces on the head can easily occur if a racing car loses control at the very high speeds of competitive motor racing or the rough terrain experienced in rallying. A risk more nearly unique to motor racing is the possibility of drastically severe burns from fuel igniting when the fuel lines or fuel tank of the vehicle are jolted sufficiently to dislodge or breach them in a situation in which the driver cannot soon enough escape from his car. This happened to world champion driver Niki Lauda at the 1976 German Grand Prix race at the Nürburgring in a crash from which he barely escaped alive.

Drivers license Document allowing one to drive a motorized vehicle

A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public road. Such licenses are often plastic and the size of a credit card.

The Automotive Industry Standards are the automotive technical specifications of India. They are based on the UNECE norms.

References

  1. "Frequently Asked Questions about Snell and Helmets". Snell Memorial Foundation, Inc.
  2. The Registrar of Imported Vehicles, a private company under contract by Transport Canada, provides some information on which US-model vehicles are or can be made street-legal in Canada.
  3. "Importing vehicles purchased in countries OTHER than the United States". Transport Canada. Government of Canada. 1 January 2013.
  4. "Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989". Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. 2012-06-18.
  5. "Rules relating to Type Approval of Vehicles and Methods of Establishing Compliance". Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). 2005. Archived from the original on 2011-08-21.
  6. 1 2 "7. Single Vehicle Approval". Guide: Vehicle approval. GOV.UK. 23 September 2013.
  7. "The UK Single Vehicle Approval Scheme". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on September 22, 2009.
  8. "State Motorcycle Laws". American Motorcyclist Association.
  9. "State ATV Information". Consumer Product Safety Commission. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  10. "Attorney General Opinion No. 94-102". Kansas Attorney General Opinions. Washburn University School of Law. 17 August 1994. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  11. Hinkelman, Edward G. (2003). Importers Manual USA. World Trade Press. p.  272. ISBN   1885073933.
  12. Overly, Steven (23 February 2017). "Even in Trump's America, California could decide how cleanly your car runs". Washington Post. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  13. "10 Common Illegal Alterations Made to Cars". National Motorists Association Blog. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  14. 1 2 American Motorcyclist Association (27 September 2012), Motocycle Laws by State (Revised 9-27-2012), archived from the original on 14 October 2013