I recently moved to Santa Clara, Utah. When I went to register my vehicles, the most restrictive lift laws in the U.S. met me! I thought about all the other Utah 4x4's I've seen that didn't comply to these laws and was told that Utah is just now starting to enforce these laws. The law enforcement in Vernal during ARCA's latest event was definitely out of hand, with 4x4's from all states being ticketed. These laws are such that I was forced to give my Toyota truck to All Pro Off Road in California, which plans to use it as a display/backcountry vehicle.
This upset me a bit, so the other day, Tom Barkume, Richard Bronsema, Phil Smith and myself met with Rep. Bud Bowman of the Utah State Legislature. Bud is an ex-Utah Highway Patrolman and has helped make sense of vehicle code laws in the past. Just recently, he worked with the street rod community and got some restrictions that made no sense eased.
Anyway, Representative Bowman listened attentively, then asked us to write a letter to him stating what we'd like to see and giving an alternative to the current rules. While California is certainly not known for being too lenient when it comes to the vehicle code, the suspension modification laws really do make sense. So, we quoted from them as something Utah could adopt. Tom Barkume of Cedar City was willing to write the letter, so he did, with a little editing from yours truly. This is what was sent to Bud . . .
August 7, 2000
Representative Demar "Bud" Bowman
109 N. 800 W.
Cedar City, Utah 84720
Dear Representative Bowman,
First, we'd like to thank you for taking some of your time to meet with us today. Here's the letter you requested at that meeting . . .
We are writing to request a change in the Utah vehicle suspension lift laws, making them easier to understand and enforce. The current law is hard to understand for vehicle builders, inspection stations (who should know the law, but don't seem to) and even harder to implement by Utah law enforcement officials. This is proven by the erratic and often lopsided enforcement that is presently happening. The change we propose would make the law easy to understand and enforceable by law enforcement personnel armed with only a rulebook and a tape measure!
Tourism is Utah's largest industry and motorized off-road recreation is a $50 million per year part of that industry here. The city of Moab derives 50% of its tourism income from 4X4 vehicle users. There are at least six major manufacturing or retailing off-road businesses located in Utah. These include:
MEPCO
Six States Drive Lines
TeraFlex
Boyce Equipment
Rocky Road Outfitters
Tough Country EZ-Ride Suspensions
At the Goodyear Extreme Rock Crawling Championship series held at Vernal, Utah, July 21 and 22, 2000, police were ticketing both Utah vehicles and out-of-state vehicles for lift law violations. The result was zero increase in compliance, bad feelings by 4x4 vehicle owners, and national bad press for Utah. Vehicles ticketed were street legal and licensed, registered, and insured in the state of residence.
We have one of the greatest areas in the world for this type of recreation and with our current laws, are telling everyone to stop your sport or leave the state. It is a fact that a properly modified 4x4 vehicle will do far less environmental damage than a stock vehicle. Two adjoining states, Arizona | and Nevada, don't have lift restrictions, but they do require mud flaps for lifted pickups. California has an excellent lift law. It is based on gross vehicle weight, which is found on the manufacturer's data tag on the driver-side door.
This law measures the height of the lowest point of the vehicle's frame from the ground and limits total lift by GVW. This is an easy law to enforce. A measuring tape will determine total acceptable lift in seconds. Pertinent sections are listed at the end of this letter.
Bud, we'd be very pleased if you could work to have our Utah suspension lift laws amended to read the same as California.
Sincerely yours,
Tom Barkum
California Vehicle Code: 24008.5
No person shall operate any motor vehicle with a frame height or body floor height greater than specified in subdivisions (b) and (c).
(b) The maximum frame height is as follows:
Vehicle Type Frame Height
(1) Passenger vehicles, except housecars ... 23 inches
(2) All other motor vehicles, including housecars, as follows:
Up to 4,500 pounds GVWR ......... 27 inches
4,501 to 7,500 pounds GVWR ..... 30 inches
7,501 to 10,000 pounds GVWR .... 31 inches
(c) The lowest portion of the body floor shall not be more than five inches above the top of the frame.
(d) The following definitions govern the construction of this section:
(1) "Frame" means the main longitudinal structural members of the chassis of the vehicle or, for vehicles with unitized body construction, the lowest main longitudinal structural members of the body of the vehicle.
(2) "Frame height" means the vertical distance between the ground and the lowest point on the frame, measured when the vehicle is unladen on a level surface at the lowest point on the frame. Jeeps are in the up to 4500 GVWR category.
Pick-ups usually fall into the 4,501 to 7,500 GVWR category. Suburbans fall into the next category. Some other sections of the California Vehicle Code that could be incorporated into our new Utah laws are:
24400 VC.....Headlights must be between 22 and 54" from the ground to the center of the light.
24402 VC.....Driving/Passing lamps must be 24 to 42" from the ground.
I'll report to you when we see what the outcome of this is. The important thing that was shown here was that YOU can be involved in making a difference when it comes to matters involving 4x4 vehicles. Don't be shy when contacting your representatives, as sometimes they are sympathetic to our cause and actually will work to change ridiculous laws.
Cross your fingers. |
