Can I drive the Gator on the road.

[foreman Etexas]

Do you guys ever get hassled about not wearing your seat belt?

I always wear mine,even on my tractor:thumbsup:

 

[two_bit_score]

Have a John Deere Gator that I inherited from my Dad.
Where we live I consider rural, have the occasional farm tractor going down the road.
Question is: If I put one of those slow moving vehicle emblems on the back of the Gator could I get away with driving it down the side of the road.
It would be fun to take it for a ride to some friends house down the road, but I don't want a ticket.

One thing I haven't seen addressed is what exactly is the road you will be traveling on? Will you even actually have to be on a roadway at all? Or, are you planning on just operating it on the right of way, untravelled portion of the road? I think it would make difference if you were driving it on a gravel county road vs a paved state highway or farm to market road and if you were actually operating on the roadway or along side the roadway off pavement.

 

[wsp617]

Here's what they have on the WI DNR site. At this point it is just a pilot project. With the growing popularity of UTV's, there has been more pressure to open more areas for riding.

"The UTV Pilot Program replaces the previous Lightweight Utility Vehicle (LUV) Pilot Program. The program will run from late March 2010 through June 30, 2012. Any county in the state may elect to participate in the UTV Pilot Program by passing a resolution and filing it with the DNR and all effected law enforcement agencies. If the county successfully passes a resolution and a municipality within that county does not wish to participate in the UTV Pilot Program, the municipality will need to pass a resolution opting out of the program. The county or municipality may designate ATV trails, routes and areas that are open to UTVs. The DNR and Federal agencies may also elect to participate in the program and designate which ATV trails are open to UTVs. Initial contact with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) revealed that they will most likely not be allowing all UTVs to operate on off-road vehicle trails on National Forest lands. The USFS has a rule that restricts off-road vehicle width to a maximum of 50 inches. The only UTV that is 50 inches or less and permitted on open trails on National Forest lands is the Polaris RZR".

I would say at this point, if the roads you're running on out included in this pilot program you're good to go.

 

[300UGUY]

Here in Michigan, I think it's illegal, and enforced. But with our drivers here, I wouldn't do it. I don't want tire tracks up my back.

 

[Wilburn May]

Have a John Deere Gator that I inherited from my Dad.
Where we live I consider rural, have the occasional farm tractor going down the road.
Question is: If I put one of those slow moving vehicle emblems on the back of the Gator could I get away with driving it down the side of the road.
It would be fun to take it for a ride to some friends house down the road, but I don't want a ticket.

I have 2 grand kids and i'love to give them a ride on a gator.

 

[sharpnavy65]

Just put a square bell of hay in the back. Say I'm going and feeding the animals. Works for me every time. Make sure you have a triangle reflector though.

 

[buickanddeere]

In Ontario no problem with a SMV . Off road vehicles above 25mph need a license plate and drive on the shoulder or live lane.

 

[RobertBrown]

this thread is 4 years old

 

[jack707]

I live in a small farm community so its no problem just stay on the side of the road.

 

[Ken73]

I drive mine on the road all the time - but I live on the outskirts of town where the "roads" are nothing more than gravel and limestone that have been dumped and graded down. Interestingly enough, I'm only approximately a mile from Walmart and I use mine to take all my gas cans (and even my diesel barrel) up to their gas station to fill up. Though I will say, my UTV is very anemic compared to most of what everyone else has (I think it has 9hp!) It only gets up to about 20 mph (21 if I have a tailwind and I'm going downhill.) So mine definitely fits the 'slow moving vehicle' statute. (I do have the triangle on mine.) I've had the police wave and smile at me at the gas station while I'm filling up my gas cans. That is - keep in mind that I think here in Texas you're not supposed to drive them on the street but out here in the country a lot of folks drive them on the (rarely traveled) roads anyway. I have a few neighbors that have them and drive by to say "hi" once in a while too.

On the other hand, there's a teenage boy (fresh out of high school I believe) a few houses over who works at a tractor dealer just up the road. He's been stopped several times by police because he runs the ones he's testing at full blast, speeding through the neighborhood.

 

[Will_C]

I drive my RTV between my house and my property several times a year. It has a SMV. Triangle and can't go faster than a tractor-in fact some of the large farms have tractors that will go 33 mph! The driving is on rural town roads, some of them gravel. There is a spray tank, weedeater, or some chainsaws in the bed. I would hope that any policeman would some more important things to do than stop me. As a matter of fact, a retired police man uses his RTV like I use mine. He told me to ask any policeman who may stop me " how am I different than a tractor?"

Will