Quads-ATV's?

Can anyone tell me definitively, if quads(ATV's) are allowed on the carretera? Or, if they are supposed to be confined to the surface streets & laterals? I know we've all seen them on the carretera, but that doesn't mean they are legal. Thanks.

yes they are. they go by my house everyday which includes going by policia vialidad.

Pedro, I know we see them all the time. Someone told me the other day they are not legally allowed on the carretera. The reason I ask is because I'm thinking about buying one just for buzzing around town. But, not much good if I can't drive it on the carretera.

buy one and put a plate on it with impunity. i have never seen one on the guadalajara to chapala highway because they are probably not fast enough. if they were illegal the policia vialidad[transitos] would be all over them like a dirty shirt.

Agree, Kim. How many times have we see people do something outright illegal in front of cops who do nothing? There are some laws that seem to be extremely bendable but still are enforced at what appears to be a whim.
Maybe Spencer can give you the correct answer so you can know for sure that you are okay.

If you don't (or can't) have insurance for liability and damage they are not legally allowed on the streets. If you cause severe damage or hurt/kill someone you will be spending a long time in a Mexican prison or be out many hundreds of thousands of pesos paying everyone off.

Ask Travis about all the hoops he had to jump through to get his rental golf carts licensed AND INSURED. Even after that they are still not allowed on the caraterra or anywhere off the village streets.

golf carts are not quads. you are correct about insurance

viajero wrote:

Pedro wrote:buy one and put a plate on it with impunity.

With impunity??

jaja! more or less and with insurance of course.

You will find you cannot get "auto insurance" for a recreational vehicle. ATV's and such are not street legal vehicles. The authorities look the other way until there is an incident or accident. If there is an incident or accident they will tell you all about the legalities of driving those things on the roads while you are sitting in jail. Be warned......

We had a large Quatromoto, we plated it and drove it on the streets, the plates each year cost more than our car.
No one would insure it, too much theft.

no pl and pd insurance? i find that hard to believe since i can get that for my 61 year old moto but not the collision,theft etc..
spoke to my good friend who was the commandante of transitos here for a while and he says they are legal in all of jalisco. you must wear a helmet.

The biggest problem is not theft insurance. It is not having liability/legal insurance for when there is an accident and someone is injured or something is damaged. You can certainly do a lot of damage and/or seriously injure someone with one of these ATV's. In fact, it is also illegal to drive any vehicle on the roads of Jalisco now without liability insurance with a minimum $3,000,000 peso coverage.

Pedro wrote:no pl and pd insurance? i find that hard to believe since i can get that for my 61 year old moto but not the collision,theft etc..
spoke to my good friend who was the commandante of transitos  here for a while and he says they are legal in all of jalisco. you must wear a helmet.

Your moto is a street legal vehicle. ATV's are not. Riding them on the streets is not legal as they cannot be insured for road use. The transitos around here turn a blind eye. You certainly don't see any riding around the main streets Guadalajara (or at least I haven't). You are misinformed.

i would like to here from an insurance agent about that part. as to not seeing them in qudalajara-maybe nobody has a death wish-jaja! i couldn't finish my conversation with el champ because my beezer parts had arrived.

They go plenty fast enough and are just as safe as any motorcycle. It is because they are actually illegal to drive on the public streets and would not be tolerated in Guadalajara. The transitos turn a blind eye to the small village streets. Again........you cannot get proper "automotive type" liability insurance to drive a recreational vehicle (ATV, Quad, dirt bike, etc.) on public roads. I have spoken with many people who are driving them on the streets around here and they all tell me they have plates (because you can register an RV) but no liability insurance. IMO.....they are taking a huge risk and I would never tell anyone it is OK to do so without informing them of the risks.

CanuckBob wrote: You certainly don't see any riding around the main streets Guadalajara (or at least I haven't).

Bob, a couple of times when I have been in Guadalajara I have seen groups of 2-4 Razrs cruising along on the streets - and no helmets!! I was very suprised as I thought they were not allowed on any city roadways. One occasion was along a collector lane on Vallarta. There was also at one time a company called Adventure Mexican Insurance (www.mexadventure.com) that was selling tourist insurance policies for tow vehicle/trailer/ATV packages to people coming in on a TIP to run trails in the Baja. I used them once but never had a claim.

Ezzie, as explained above: In Mexico, what is done and what is legal are two different things.
Also, as you noted, the insurance was for "tow vehicle/trailer/ATV packages to people coming in on a TIP to run trails in the Baja."
No one has yet presented the answer that the OP is seeking.

"No one has yet presented the answer that the OP is seeking."

It is my understanding that to be licensed the ATV or whatever vehicle one wishes to license must have the the safety equipment that a car has. Brake lights, turn signals, head lights, rear running lights etc.

Anyone who bases actions and decisions upon what posters say they believe is legal probably should not be running around loose in Mexico. And, sometimes, if they do take the free advice offered they may not be loose for long.
There seems to be enough ambiguity and the purchase is expensive enough (and the consequences of being wrong dire enough) that paying for a legal opinion seems worth it.

Osoprehistorico wrote:"No one has yet presented the answer that the OP is seeking."

It is my understanding that to be licensed the ATV or whatever vehicle one wishes to license must have the the safety equipment that a car has.  Brake lights, turn signals, head lights, rear running lights etc.  

Excuse me but most cars don't have these in MX.

Thanks for the comments everyone. Guess I won't be buying an ATV.

Well if you do just be aware that you will not be able to get "liability" insurance for use on the public streets. This means if you cause any damage or hurt anyone you would sit in jail until reparations can be made. In some cases this could be millions of pesos........

CanuckBob wrote:Well if you do just be aware that you will not be able to get "liability" insurance for use on the public streets. This means if you cause any damage or hurt anyone you would sit in jail until reparations can be made. In some cases this could be millions of pesos........

do you have this info from an insurance company or agent?

Yes, I asked several agents if they would provide liability insurance for a 4 seater quad. They all said no as it was not a street legal vehicle and some of them wouldn't even insure it for theft.

I built my Vocho buggy instead as it is fully street legal and could be properly insured.