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 SELECTED NORTH CAROLINA MOTORCYCLE LAWS
1; § 20-4-01. Definitions. (edited)
"All-terrain vehicle" means a motorized off-highway vehicle designed to travel on three or four low-pressure tires, having a seat designed to be straddled by the operator and handlebars for steering control. “Utility Vehicle” – Vehicle designed and manufactured for general maintenance, security, recreational, and landscaping purposes, but does not include vehicles designed and used primarily for the transportation of persons or property on a street or highway.
"Moped" means (GS 105-164.3) a vehicle that has two or three wheels no external shifting device, and a motor that does not exceed 50 cubic centimeters piston displacement and cannot propel the vehicle at a speed greater than 30 miles per hour on a level surface. "Motor vehicle" means every vehicle which is self propelled and every vehicle designed to run upon the highways which is pulled by a self propelled vehicle. “Vehicle” means every device in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, excepting devices moved by human power or on fixed rail. Bicycles shall be deemed vehicles and every rider of a bicycle upon a highway shall be subject to the provision of this chapter applicable to the driver of a vehicle except those which by their nature can have no application. "Motorcycle" means every vehicle having a saddle for the use of the rider and designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground, including motor scooters and motor-driven bicycles, but excluding tractors and utility vehicles equipped with an additional form of device designed to transport property, three wheeled vehicles while being used by law enforcement agencies and mopeds. Back to menu
2; § 20-7. Examination and road test required for license to operate motorcycle; Motorcycle learners permit.
No person shall drive any motorcycle on a highway unless he has passed an examination, including written or oral material and a road test, pertaining to his physical and mental ability to drive safely. Upon successful completion of the examinations and paying a fee, the division will issue a motorcycle endorsement.
The following persons are eligible for a motorcycle learner’s permit:
To obtain a motorcycle learner’s permit, an applicant shall pass a vision test, a road test, and a written test specified by the division. A motorcycle learner’s permit expires 18 months after it is issued. The holder of a motorcycle learner’s permit may not drive a motorcycle. Back to menu
3; § 20-63. Registration plates fastened; altering appearance of registration plates.
Comment: The main thing is that the plate must be visible, but, if you mount the plate vertically as opposed to horizontally you are violating this statute. Back to menu
4; § 20-124. Brake Light. (edited)
Every motorcycle and every motor-driven cycle when operated upon a highway shall be equipped with at least one brake which may be operated by hand or foot. Back to menu
5; § 20-125. Horns
Every motorcycle when operated upon a highway shall be equipped with a horn in good working order capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions of not less than 200 feet. All such horns and warning devices shall be maintained in good working order and shall conform to regulation not inconsistent with this section to promulgate by the Commissioner. Back to menu
6; § 20-126. Mirrors
No person shall operate a motorcycle upon the streets or highways of this state unless such motorcycle is equipped with a rearview mirror so mounted as to provide the operator with a clear, undistorted and unobstructed view of at least 2000 feet t the rear of the motorcycle. No motorcycle shall be registered in this state after January 1, 1968, unless such motorcycle is equipped with a rearview mirror as described in this section. Violation of the provisions of this subsection shall not be considered negligence per se in any civil action.
Comment: The statute requires a review mirror. Not multiple. So long as your motorcycle has one mirror you are in compliance. Back to menu
7; § 20-128. Exhaust system in good working order.
No person shall drive a motor vehicle on a highway unless such motor vehicle is equipped with a muffler, or other exhaust system of the type installed at the time of manufacture, in good working order and in constant operation as to prevent excessive or unusual noise, annoying smoke and smoke screens. It shall be unlawful to use a “muffler Cut-out” on any motor vehicle upon a highway.
No motor vehicle registered in this State that was manufactured after model year 1967 shall be operated in this State unless it is equipped with emissions control devices that were installed on the vehicle at the time the vehicle was manufactured and these devices are properly connected. Back to menu
8; § 20-129. Head lamps, rear lamps, illumination of registration plate; brake lamps, and stop lamps. (edited)
Every motorcycle shall be equipped with at least one and not more than two headlamp which shall be capable of projecting sufficient light to the front of such motorcycle to render discernible a person or object at a distance of 200 feet. The headlamps on a motorcycle shall be lighted at all times while the motorcycle is in operation on highways or public vehicular areas. Comment: See also § 20-130 below
A lamp shall be so constructed and placed that the number plate carried on the rear of such motorcycle shall under like conditions be illuminated by a white light as to be read from a distance of 50 feet to the rear of such vehicle.
No person shall sell or operate on the highways of the State any motorcycle manufactured after December 31, 1955, unless it shall be equipped with a stop lamp on the rear of the vehicle. The stop lamp shall display a red or amber light visible from a distance of not less than 100 feet to the rear in normal sunlight, and shall be actuated upon application of the rear brake. The stop lamp may be incorporated into a unit with one or more other rear lamps. Back to menu
9; § 20-130. Additional permissible light on motorcycles; spot lamps and electronic modulated headlamps.
A motorcycle shall not be equipped with more than one spot lamp, and every light spot lamp shall be so aimed and used upon approaching another vehicle that no part of the beam will be directed to the left of the center of the highway nor more than 100 feet ahead of the vehicle. No spot lamps shall be used on the rear of any vehicle. Nothing contained in this chapter shall prohibit the use of electronically modulated headlamps on motorcycles. Comment: The long and short of it is that if you are riding on the roads, you must have a headlight and rear view mirror. Notice however that there is no requirement that you have turn signals.
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10; 20-140.4. Motorcyclist to wear helmets, etc.; passengers; penalty.
Comment: It is interesting that the statute does not state that the helmet shall be certified as compliant with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 218, only that it be compliant. Back to menu
11; § 20-146.1. Driving two abreast in a single lane.
Comment: If you are riding from North Carolina into Virginia please keep in mind that it is considered reckless driving to operate two motorcycles abreast in a single lane. The only other state which makes this illegal is Vermont. Back to menu
12; § 20-146.2. Rush hour traffic lanes authorized. (edited)
A. The Department of Transportation may designate one or more lanes of any highway in the State Highway System, as high-occupancy vehicle lanes, hereinafter referred to in this section as HOV lanes. Cities may designate HOV lanes on the Municipal Street System. When lanes have been so designated and have been appropriately marked with such signs or other markers, they shall be reserved for privately and publicly operated buses, and automobiles or other vehicles containing the specified number of persons. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, no designation of any lane or lanes of any highway as HOV lanes shall apply to the use of any such lanes by: Back to menu
13; § 20-158. Control of Vehicles at Intersection; Blow through the red light; defense. (edited)
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