§ 3501.

375 words·~2 min read·/vt/title-23/chapter-31/3501

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§ 3501. Definitions

As used in this chapter:

(1)“All-terrain vehicle” or “ATV” means any nonhighway recreational vehicle, except snowmobiles, having not less than two low pressure tires (10 pounds per square inch, or less); not wider than 72 inches, with two-wheel ATVs having permanent, full-time power to both wheels; and having a dry weight of less than 2,500 pounds, when used for cross-country travel on trails or on any one of the following or a combination thereof: land, water, snow, ice, marsh, swampland, and natural terrain. An ATV on a public highway shall be considered a motor vehicle, as defined in section 4 of this title, only for the purposes of those offenses listed in subdivisions 2502(a)(1)(H), (N), (R), (U), (Y), (FF), (GG), (II), and (AAA); (2)(A) and (B); (3)(A), (B), (C), and (D); (4)(A) and (B); and

(5)of this title and as provided in section 1201 of this title. An ATV does not include an electric personal assistive mobility device, a motor-assisted bicycle, or an electric bicycle.

(2)“Department” means the Department of Motor Vehicles unless otherwise stated.

(3)“Direct supervision” means that the supervisor shall be sufficiently close and able to control, by communicating visually or orally, the operation of an ATV by an operator under 16 years of age, taking into account the noise created by an ATV and protective headgear worn by the operator.

(4)“Farm” means a parcel or parcels of land owned, leased, or managed by a person and devoted primarily to farming.

(5)“Forestry operation” has the same meaning as in 10 V.S.A. § 2602.

(6)“Secretary” means the Secretary of Natural Resources.

(7)“State lands” means land owned, leased, or otherwise controlled by the State.

(8)“VASA” means the Vermont ATV Sportsman’s Association, a statewide association of ATV clubs. (Added 1983, No. 240 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1987, No. 76, § 18; 2001, No. 69, § 9; 2001, No. 91 (Adj. Sess.), § 10; 2003, No. 66, § 217a; 2007, No. 184 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 2009, No. 50, § 82; 2015, No. 50, § 25; 2019, No. 121 (Adj. Sess.), § 17; 2019, No. 149 (Adj. Sess.), § 24; 2021, No. 40, § 8; 2025, No. 66, § 39, eff. July 1, 2025.)