February 1, 2005, Introduced by Rep. Elsenheimer and referred to the Committee on Transportation.
A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled
"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"
by amending section 82119 (MCL 324.82119), as added by 1995 PA 58.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 82119. A person shall not operate a snowmobile upon a
public highway, land used as an airport or street, or on a public
or private parking lot not specifically designated for the use of
snowmobiles except under the following conditions and
circumstances:
(a) A snowmobile may be operated on the right-of-way of a
public highway, except a limited access highway, if it is operated
at the extreme right of the open portion of the right-of-way and
with the flow of traffic on the highway. However, a snowmobile may
be operated on the right-of-way of a public highway against the
flow of traffic if the right-of-way is a snowmobile trail
designated by the department in the plan developed pursuant to
section 82106(2) and is approved by the state transportation
department and the department. Snowmobiles operated on the right-
of-way of a public highway, as provided in this subdivision, shall
travel single file and shall not be operated abreast except when
overtaking and passing another snowmobile. In the absence of a
posted snowmobile speed limit, a snowmobile operated on the right-
of-way of a public highway, as provided in this subdivision, shall
be limited to the speed limit posted on the public highway.
(b) A snowmobile may be operated on the right-of-way of a
public highway that is a limited access highway if the right-of-way
is a snowmobile trail designated by the department in the plan
developed pursuant to section 82106(2) and is approved by the state
transportation department and the department. A snowmobile shall
only be operated on that right-of-way in the manner provided in
that plan and within the width of the designated trail.
(c) (b)
A snowmobile may be operated on
the roadway or
shoulder when necessary to cross a bridge or culvert if the
snowmobile is brought to a complete stop before entering onto the
roadway or shoulder and the driver yields the right-of-way to an
approaching vehicle on the highway.
(d) (c)
In a court action in this state
where competent
evidence demonstrates that a vehicle that is permitted to be
operated
on a highway pursuant to the Michigan vehicle code, Act
No.
300 of the Public Acts of 1949, being sections 257.1 to 257.923
of
the Michigan Compiled Laws, is in a collision 1949
PA 300, MCL
257.1 to 257.923, collided with a snowmobile on a roadway, the
driver of the snowmobile involved in the collision shall be
considered prima facie negligent.
(e) (d)
A snowmobile may be operated
across a public
highway other than a limited access highway, at right angles to the
highway, for the purpose of getting from 1 area to another when the
operation can be done in safety and another vehicle is not crossing
the highway at the same time in the same general area. An operator
shall bring his or her snowmobile to a complete stop before
proceeding across the public highway and shall yield the right-of-
way to all oncoming traffic.
(f) (e)
Snowmobiles may be operated on a
highway in a
county road system that is not normally snowplowed for vehicular
traffic and on the plowed right-of-way or shoulder when no right-
of-way exists on a snowplowed highway in the county road system,
outside the corporate limits of a city or village, that is
designated and marked for snowmobile use by the county road
commission having jurisdiction. Upon the request of a county road
commission that has designated all county roads outside the
corporate limits of a city or village for snowmobile use, the state
transportation department shall erect at county road commission
expense and shall maintain, in accordance with the Michigan manual
of uniform traffic control devices standards, the basic snowmobile
sign unit together with a supplemental panel stating "permitted on
right-of-way
or shoulder of all .......... (county name) roads --
-Act
74 of P.A. 1968 MCL 324.82119" at the county line on all
state trunk line highways and county roads. A sign erected before
the effective date of the 2005 amendatory act that amended this
section may cite 1968 PA 74 instead of citing this section.
(g) (f)
A duly constituted law
enforcement officer of a
local unit of government or the state may authorize use of a
snowmobile on a public highway or street within his or her
jurisdiction when an emergency occurs and conventional motor
vehicles cannot be used for transportation due to snow or other
extreme highway conditions.
(h) (g)
A snowmobile may be operated on a
highway or street
for a special event of limited duration conducted according to a
prearranged schedule only under permit from the governmental unit
having jurisdiction. The event may be conducted on the frozen
surface of public waters only under permit from the department.
(i) (h)
A city or village by ordinance may
designate 1 or
more specific public highways or streets within its jurisdiction as
egress and ingress routes for the use of snowmobiles. A city or
village acting under the authority of this subdivision shall erect
and maintain, in accordance with the Michigan manual of uniform
traffic control devices standards, a sign unit giving proper notice
of the designation.