ATVs approved for Salem streets

SALEM — City leaders are taking advantage of a change in state law that allows all-terrain vehicles to drive on city streets.

The Salem City Council last week passed an ordinance allowing the vehicles if they are equipped with headlights, taillights, a lighted license plate and a windshield, which is optional if the driver is wearing a helmet.

Making an ATV street-legal would cost about $400, officials said.

Drivers would also need a Utah driver's license, which means they must be at least 16 years old.

However, the vehicles remain banned from federal or state highways, except to cross them, said city attorney Junior Baker.

People who want to drive their ATVs on trails and city streets need two registrations, one for off-road use and one for the street. If they don't drive on trails, they just need a street registration, officials said.

For several years, ATV drivers could ride on city streets to access trails, Baker said. Salem was excluded from that law because none of its streets led to trails. But when the state Legislature changed the law to allow street-legal ATVs, the city decided to allow them on its roads.

The Spanish Fork City Council passed a similar ATV ordinance on Aug. 18. Baker also is the city attorney for Spanish Fork.

— Rodger L. Hardy