The financial responsibility sections of the California Vehicle Code apply to motorcycle owners and operators.

If you, as a motorcycle rider, are involved in a collision which causes more than $750 in property damage to one person, including yourself, or anyone else is injured, no matter how slightly, you (or your insurance agent, broker, or legal representative) must report the collision to DMV or your DL may be suspended. The CHP or the police will not make this report.

You must make this report within 10 days on the Report of Traffic Accident Occurring in California (SR1). The SR1 is also available on the DMV website at www.dmv.ca.gov and at any DMV field office or CHP office. Refer to the California Driver Handbook for more information.

Check with your insurance company about your coverage before you buy or ride a motorcycle.

Evading a Peace Officer

Any person who willfully flees or attempts to evade a peace officer performing his or her duties is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year (CVC §2800.1).

If a person is convicted of causing serious bodily injury during the course of a police pursuit (CVC §2800.3(a)), he or she is subject to:

• Imprisonment in a state prison for three, five, or seven years or in a county jail for not more than one year.
• A fine between $2,000 and $10,000.
• Both that fine and imprisonment.

If a person is convicted of killing anyone during the course of a police pursuit (CVC §2800.3(b)), he or she is subject to imprisonment in a state prison for four, six, or ten years.

Tread Lightly!

The U.S. Forest Service (USFS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and California Department of Parks and Recreation would like you to TREAD LIGHTLY! Obtain a travel map from your local USFS or BLM office, or regulations from other public land agencies. Learn the rules and follow them.

• Avoid running over young trees, shrubs, and grasses-this can damage or kill them.
• Stay off soft, wet roads and trails readily torn up by vehicles.
• Travel around meadows, steep hillsides, stream banks, and lake shores easily scarred by churning wheels.
• Resist the urge to pioneer a new road or trail, or cut across a switchback.
• Stay away from wild animals rearing their young, or suffering from food shortages. The stress uses up their limited energy reserves.
• Obey gate closures and regulatory signs.
• Stay out of designated wilderness areas. Know where the boundaries are. Vandalism costs tax dollars.
• Get permission to travel across private lands. Respect land owner rights.

For more information contact the Off Highway Vehicle Division of the California Department of Parks and Recreation at www.ohv.parks.ca.gov.