Moped Laws: Montana

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GMI

by John Snyder

After making some phone calls to different government offices I discovered -- and am still slightly confused by it -- in Montana, USA a bicycle was defined in 1979 as having;
2-3 wheels touching the ground. Functioning pedals that allow the operator to propel the vehicle without assistance. If equipped with an auxilary power source the motor will not exceed 2 BHP and/or [ed. ?] 50cc. The auxilary motor will not permit the vehicle to exceed 30 mph.

If these limits are exceeded the vehicle becomes subject to all regulations pertaining to motorcycles -- i.e. DMV title, headlights, tail lights, turn signals, motorcycle operator endorsement to an individual's Driver's License, vehicle license plate and vehicle registration within the county of residence. There are no separate legal provisions for MOPEDS, electric bicycles or AHPV 4-wheeled vehicles such as a quadracycle with any size/type auxilary motor or not.

Other than my confusion about motor size and power (was it "or", "and" or "and/or" ?), the clerk at the local DMV mentioned that if a power-assisted bicycle was able to exceeding 30 mph it could not be operated on public highways. Under 30 mph it's still a bicycle which can be operated on the highway.