Some officials said expanding motor sports across eastern Kentucky would drive nontraditional economic growth for the region. Senate Bill 63, introduced to the Senate Standing Committee on Transportation, would allow ‘street legal special purpose vehicles,’ including ATVs, UTVs, mini trucks, and side-by-sides, to travel limited distances on state highways.
The regulation would allow these vehicles to drive up to 20 miles at a time on state highways and other non-controlled roads, as long as they are deemed road-legal and properly registered.
State Senator Brandon Storm, the bill’s sponsor, said the legislation is designed to make motorsports more convenient while keeping roadways safe, and these drivers do not have to go through any additional processes if they don’t want to drive on highways.
“These vehicles are only the ones that want to be street legal. It’s optional, I should say. If they want to go register those, they can, they don’t have to. But if they’re going to, they need to be inspected, they need to be lawful,” said Storm. “They need to have the roll, the roll bars, need to have the break lamps, need to have the seatbelts, and all the things that make these as safe as possible. And they need to be insured.”
Currently, officials report Kentuckians are going out of state to register their vehicles for on-road use, which takes away possible tax revenue and tourism from the Commonwealth. Many more, Storm added, are instead ignoring current laws and riding on highways illegally and without insurance, which SB 63 aims to discourage.
Eric Hubbard is the Executive Director of Backroads of Appalachia, a nonprofit tourism organization operating in eastern Kentucky and West Virginia. He said the Commonwealth is missing out on a major tourism market that West Virginia benefits from, like on the Hatfield and Mccoy trail.
“Not just on the trail system, but they’re riding into the little towns and they’re eating at the mom-and-pop restaurants. They’re going, unloading and staying at the lodge and even supporting local car washes. And it’s truly amazing what it’s doing for that part of south West Virginia,” said Hubbard.
The bill specifically does not add restrictions to or impact farming equipment, as tractors and other farming trucks operate under a different registration system.
The bill passed its committee hearing and moves on to the senate.