Here in my home state of Utah, side-by-sides are street legal. Well, sorta. You aren't just allowed to rock up to a powersport dealership, drop $30,000, and drive off. You have to do a few things to them before you can apply for registration with the DMV, i.e. install turn signals, make sure the lights are to code, and, well, that's about it.
Listen, I didn't say it was difficult.
But Utah, along with a host of other states, has recently seen the rise in UTV ownership—a story on the reasoning why is something I'm working on for a later date—and have begun allowing these mini-trophy trucks and utility vehicles out on the road like any other normal car. States across the country have adopted similar laws, letting the two intermingle on local roads. Highways are still not allowed, but who knows if that'll change.
Yet, because there's no unifying law around side-by-side street legality, states are free to register them for road use however they see fit. Some, like Utah, classify them as cars. Others use legal classifications for motorcycles. And that randomness has made their legality in states where they're not expressly street legal, a bit of a loophole for folks to exploit.
Case in point, Wisconsin hasn't made them street legal. Yet, with the right plates, say Montana, you can absolutely drive your side-by-side on the road. Something the police and local off-road groups are just figuring out, as well as spurring a new legislative bill.
In recent months, folks around Wisconsin have see the rise of UTVs with out-of-state plates on public roads. And residents, who've yet to decide on whether to allow them on the road with other pedestrian cars, have begun to wonder what's the deal is and why they're allowed to operate since they're not expressly street legal in the state.
The root of the issue comes down to how the side-by-sides are classified in other states: i.e. when a state puts them under the motorcycle umbrella. Why, because if it's a motorcycle, then other states have to abide by its classification of a motorcycle and it's then technically street legal in all 50 states.
According to WTMJ-TV Milwaukee, "The problem stems from a regulatory gap: if a UTV can obtain a regular motorcycle vehicle license from out of state, it can legally drive anywhere in Wisconsin, including highways and interstates." And because of that legal loophole, a handful of out-of-state companies have begun advertising that they can not just register UTVs as street-legal, but they then can operate in states like Wisconsin without issue.
The outlet spoke to Matt Thompson, president of one of the UTV clubs in the state who said, "There are a few companies from out of state, South Dakota and Montana, that are marketing registering UTVs in those states as on-highway vehicles. And their claim is, they can then operate them anywhere in Wisconsin."
Now, however, Thompson's group, along with a handful of lawmakers, are trying to close the legal loophole with a new bill to prohibit such reciprocity. The group argues that it "undermines" the work they're already doing to work with law enforcement and local municipalities to allow side-by-sides on "certain" local roads, and the state is arguing that it loses money if folks are registering elsewhere instead of at home. And Thompson isn't wrong, it does sort of smack down the good work of trying to work within the system to allow these vehicles to drive freely.
That pesky 90/10 rule rears its ugly face again, and the out-of-staters are absolutely doing their best 10% impression.
As for what happens next, the bill is in the transportation committee, but will need to be voted on to move forward. From there, it'll have to go to Wisconsin's main legislature before it can be adopted. So for now, that loophole remains.
