Access

I have an obscure question I cannot seem to find an answer to. Does an electric RC car or truck from a legal standpoint qualify as a 'motor vehicle' and likewise does the person using the receiver qualify as an 'operator'? For instance:

1) If an area has signage that prohibits the operation of 'off-road motor vehicle' does it refer to RC cars or just off-road vehicles designed to carry a passenger?

2) If you are drunk, or have a blood-alcohol level above the legal driving limit (0.08 in our state), is it legal to operate a RC car?

And so on.
I have to ask b'cos when we bash and sometimes even racing we see traffic cop pull up and observe us as if though he's looking for trouble. He's never stuck around too long, but then, we've never done much when he's around.

I know they don't like the plane people in the same area but no one has ever asked us to stop our cars and we never run them close to or in the presence of others and never on private property.

mdh1979

1) I would think that if you were operating your rc whatever where "no motor vehicles" was posted and you were using it in an unsafe manor, especially if pedestrians were present you might get some negative attention from the police. I guess it also depends on what you're driving. A nitro savage would cause a lot more harm to people than a micro-t. I it were me, i'd just stay away from pedestrians, cars/bikes, and from areas where said signs were posted.

2) If you are drunk or drinking you have no business using anything from a car to a rc vehicle. Sober up first.

Using your rc vehicle around these areas is just asking for trouble. Remember what your manual says: never operate where it could cause harm to people or property.

Just my 2 cents


Matt

00nothing

Interesting ? the law can always be interpreted in so many ways

I took law and security administration in college here in canada and was always amazed at how laws are written and it is always in such a way that it benefits the police

example say you are in your driveway working on your real car having a few drinks well the second u have the keys in your hand that is considered care and control well if u were to enter that vehicle started or not with those keys even though u are in your own driveway while having anything to drink you can be charged with drunk driving !!

The reason for this is that under our highway traffic act the defenition of highway: “highway” includes a common and public highway, street, avenue, parkway, driveway, square, place, bridge, viaduct or trestle, any part of which is intended for or used by the general public for the passage of vehicles and includes the area between the lateral property lines thereof

I wont get to detailed but anything connecting to what we consider a road i.e. ure driveway and is considered to be for the use of motor vechiles is conisdered to be part of that road

Could u imagine getting charged fro drunk driving in ure own driveway in a vehicle that hasnt moved or doesn't run

Elite_Tux487

I had a friend who got "pulled over" for sitting in his car listening to the music drinking a beer. Although he fought it in court and it was dropped.

FrankB2

http://www.courts.state.pa.us/OpPost.../a36012_06.pdf
In the above case, a PA court ruled that an airplane is not a motor vehicle, eventhough
it can taxi around an airport. Pennsylvania also makes a distinction between a motor-powered
cycle, and a motorcycle. The former is not considered a motor vehicle if the power is less than
5 BHP.

When I lived in New Jersey, a BB gun was classified as a "firearm", but that's not the case in
PA. Check your state local laws before getting drunk and running that R/C car down the highway.
Disorderly conduct is the broad charge that is used for the type of behavior you mentioned, and
a few other non-motor vehicle charges might apply if you injure someone.

Access

Yeah when I tried searching online I found pleanty about the defintion of 'drunk' and 'driving' and stories like people posted above. But I can't find any concrete definition for 'motor vehicle'. I mean a motor vehicle could apply to, say, a motorized wheelchair (literally a 'personal mobility device') and surely the cops wouldn't arrest a guy in a wheelchair for being drunk or being on a nature trail that could accomodate the wheelchair. Nor a person with a self-actuated artificial leg.

Doahh

example say you are in your driveway working on your real car having a few drinks well the second u have the keys in your hand that is considered care and control well if u were to enter that vehicle started or not with those keys even though u are in your own driveway while having anything to drink you can be charged with drunk driving !!

Not so... Your on private Property

00nothing

Private Property or not read the definition of highway and for that matter a crime is a crime regardless of whether it is committed on private property or public lands, I am not saying I like it I just know it to be fact at least for where I live

Now perhaps where u live your laws & definitions differ but i highly doubt that one sure thing is that justice will always side with the law and its officials and thats the law writers have done so in such a way to leave the police protected as much as possible

guver

My Feedback: (325)

Police was probably just eyeing you up because he wanted to race.

Rocenante

My borther and I used to run our (nitro) cars in a local rideshare parking lot, and we would get cops rolling through every so often. They saw us outside our cars, and pulled in to see why. When they saw why, they would usually hang around and watch for a few minutes, but not because they were looking for a reason to hassle us. I think they just thought it was cool. my 2 cents.

Bombers_410

an rc car isn't heavy machinery. As long as you ar sober enough to get the car running, you are sober enough to drive it. As long as the car goes slower than 30 mph, you should be fine.

df4now

heh, I've always wondered if it's possible to get a speeding ticket when my friends and I drive our RC cars on residential streets at 40mph+ when the speed limit is 25mph.
Then again, of course, the speed limit is more important for vehicles weighing thousands of pounds rather than five to ten. hehe

running_gag

Honey, I never drive fater than I can see. and other than that, its all in the reflexes.

KilgoreTrout

im 100% sure you would get drunk in public and not a DUI in the situation you presented.

RCtruckRacer

Here in the US, if some idiot who owns several acres wants to get toasted and go out and hurt himself on his YZ450, he can. He (or she) has commited no crime other than pure stupidity. However, you also can certainly get arrested. The police are (fortunately) not empowered to interperet the law, only enforce it. It is up to their good judgement as to how that is to be done, and up to the courts to determine if they were correct or not. With that in mind:

In this instance, you would be cited for public intoxication. Additionaly, depending on the circumstances of course, you could also be charged with reckless endangerment etc. Also, what someone gets charged for and what comes out in the end are usually two different things. Charges are often changed to a lesser offense if a guilty plea is entered. The important thing to remember is not to do anything that could cause harm. If you're on private property (yours or someone who gave you permission), not endangering anyone or anything outside the property, you have every right to have as many beers as you want while running your R/C's. If something bad were to happen however (say a runaway goes off the property and causes some damage) I can see the posibility of criminal charges if one were intoxicated. Otherwise it would just be a liability damage claim.

That should answer both of your questions. As far as running on public property goes, just remember that public intoxication isn't allowed in any state that I know of, except perhaps Louisianna during Mardi-Gras... But I would say that if you are not causing any problems 99% of the police are going to leave you alone. Some may want to watch, after all these things are pretty cool.

castandiello

[h=2]ve·hi·cle[/h]noun\ˈvē-ə-kəl also ˈvē-ˌhi-kəl\: a machine that is used to carry people or goods from one place to another
: the thing that allows something to be passed along, expressed, achieved, or shown


AS PER THE MEANING OF VEHICLE, THE ANSWER IS "NO". AN RC CAR IS NOT A MOTORIZED VEHICLE!!

zackS30

I think this 7 year old thread has been resolved

castandiello

Most replies I have read were all stupid and irrelevant!.. So I don't think it was ever resolved!

zackS30

Seems like common sense on the op's part would have sufficeint. Lol
Sorry mods, not trying to bring an old thread back.

sdyjh

Interesting ? the law can always be interpreted in so many ways