Bikes OK on the road but no ATVs allowed?! Double standards in Victoria, Australia.

[CrankshaftKaleb]

For those of you are not familiar with the rules of the road in Australia (Victoria in particular), getting registration on a motorbike here is pretty straightforward. Even if you have a low-cost Chinese bike that may not tick all the boxes for a full registration (such as pit bikes, but not pocket bikes/minimotos, they're banned), you can still register it as a "recreational motorcycle" provided it has brakes on both wheels, a working horn, and lights that run off a battery that is being charged by the engine when it's running, and is not too noisy.

That's all well and good if you have a bike, but if you have an ATV you're right out of luck unless you're a farmer or you're using it for work-related purposes. Even out in the bush you can get stung, as the police and park rangers do motorbike patrols of public land looking for unregistered vehicles being used off road.

This is a double standard by my reckoning. I've heard that in the UK, Europe and many American states, ATVs are allowed to be registered for use on the road, so why wouldn't this work in Australia?

http://chng.it/R7ZP8v5xdP

I'm sharing this petition in the hope that it will get the powers that be to do something about this madness if enough people support it.

Petitions aside, does anyone have anything important to add with regard to rules and regulations in other countries, or on the subject of ATV safety that I have missed or gotten wrong?

[dpl096]

Ronald Reagan said it best..... The nine most terrifying words in the English language ::: I'm from the government and I'm here to help........ Brother if you're looking for common sense out of a government it can usually be found in the same place they keep the unicorns and rainbow power.

[NzBrakelathes]

I don’t think ATVs are road legal anywhere in the modern world and nz it’s something like you guys for farmers only.
Motorcycles only have 2-3 wheels cars have 3-4 wheels is kinda a general rule
But Off road on public land I’ve never had to register a bike in NZ or other countries I’ve lived. I’ve heard of it due to theft that all bikes must be registered so ownership can be proved - not a bad system and it was cheap.

[culcune]

As mentioned--every US state has its own rules, although the US federal government regulates things like emissions and general street legality on a federal level for standards' sake. However, states get to pick and choose what laws they want, such as ATVs and UTVs allowed on the street. The state of Arizona butts up to California, and allows street plating of ATVs and UTVs. However, one cannot legally ride a plated ATV or UTV across state lines from Arizona to California. Then again, in Arizona, I was allowed to carry a fully loaded pistol in my waistband, out of sight (concealed) or in a holster (open carry), whereas in California, I could be arrested and jailed for doing so. But, in California, I could be an illegal alien and the state will not cooperate with federal authorities even if I committed a crime and theoretically should be facing deportation (i.e. carrying a loaded firearm)--California calls it 'sanctuary.' In Arizona, they will turn me over to federal authorities to face deportation. All I can say is it is a crazy world out there...