Posted on 01/10/2006 5:24:19 PM PST by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle illegally over the weekend when he collided with a car in his Brentwood neighborhood, the Los Angeles Police Department said Tuesday.
Police Lt. Paul Vernon said Schwarzenegger does not have the proper motorcycle endorsement on his California driver's license, contradicting statements made by his spokeswoman since the Sunday accident that left the governor with 15 stitches in his upper lip. "He does not have the license," Vernon said.
Police did not cite the governor because they arrived after the accident, Vernon said. Police referred their findings to the Los Angeles city attorney's office, which will determine whether the governor should be cited for an infraction.
The city attorney's office could not immediately confirm receipt of the department's report.
Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Margita Thompson, acting on initial information Sunday, said the governor's Class C license allowed him to ride the motorcycle with its sidecar attached. His 12-year-old son, Patrick, was riding in the sidecar but was not injured.
Schwarzenegger, a Harley Davidson owner who rides regularly with friends along the California coast, said Tuesday that he never bothered to obtain a California motorcycle license because he "never thought about it."
"I just never really applied for it," he said, responding to a reporter's question during a state budget briefing. "It was just one of those things that I never really did."
Schwarzenegger collided with a car while riding his motorcycle with his son near his Los Angeles home.
In a statement issued after the LAPD's announcement, Thompson said the governor "will move forward to get the appropriate endorsement."
To get an M-1 or M-2 endorsement, a motorcycle rider must pass a Department of Motor Vehicle skills test or take a motorcycle training course from a program approved by the California Highway Patrol.
Driving a motorcycle without the proper license is an infraction that can result in fines ranging from $100 to $250 or more.
Schwarzenegger said he had a motorcycle license when he lived in Europe, but never thought about getting another one after he immigrated to the United States in 1968.
California Highway Patrol officers accompanied Schwarzenegger on Sunday's ride, but a spokesman said he could not discuss if the officers had checked, or would check in the future, if the governor had a proper license.
"I can't comment on any procedure that our protective services detail utilizes with the governor," spokesman Steve Kohler said. "That's standard CHP policy."
Schwarzenegger was asked about his lack of a proper motorcycle license on the same day that state Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, reintroduced his bill to allow illegal immigrants to get California driver's licenses. Schwarzenegger has vetoed that bill twice.
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Associated Press writers Steve Lawrence in Sacramento and Jeremiah Marquez in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Just glad no one was seriously hurt.
His European license should cover him, my US license covered me while in Europe, I drove all over Germany, cars and bikes, I even got pulled over for a burned out headlight on a car on the Autobahn (1 of 4 bulbs was out) with no problem.
He needs to pay the fine.
Geez...the article would have you think the accident was Arnold's fault.
I think I heard someone say when he came to the uS, he had a visa which included driving motorcycle and never either realized or knew he needed a current motorcycle license. :-\
He has driven them for years, so until this mishap, he was pretty wreck free or so it seems. Not an easy task on a motorcycle when you're a high-charged action figure. :)
He needs to pay the fine.
A little premature, don't you think. From the article:
Police did not cite the governor because they arrived after the accident, Vernon said. Police referred their findings to the Los Angeles city attorney's office, which will determine whether the governor should be cited for an infraction.
JMO but not really. If he says he doesn't have one then he needs insist on being treated as everyone else and be done with it.
You should have seen him jump that hog off of that bridge in Terminator 2. He knows how to ride!!! ;>))
I heard a version that the car in a drive backed out quick or unexpectedly, he had a bit of a problem at that point, either due to lack of time to react or he just lost control for a second and boom.
Not sure how much experience he has driving a motorcycle sidecar.
The good thing is they weren't moving very fast when it occurred.
Check again. Here. Last paragraph.
I think True Lies is his best movie, rides a horse, flies a Harrier, wreaks havoc in a rest room, dances a tango with Tia Carrere, and gets a strip tease from Jamie Lee Curtis - for starters.
Of course, getting that piece of paper from some "gummint trash" makes you a better rider, or barber, or driver, or gun owner, or.......
HEAVY SARCASM.
Schwarzenegger was on the radio this morning talking about this. He was ranting about how some illegal aliens were driving the car that hit him. He was really angry about it.
---His European license should cover him---
From 1968?
That is a crock.. How many times do the police arrive before or during an accident?
More importantly how many times in your own personal knowledge do the cops cite people when the Cops arrive after an accident. Vernon is not telling the truth.
There was another story that said a motorcycle with a side car does not require a motorcycle license. They said a motorized two wheel vehicle license commonly called a motorcycle license is required for 2 wheeled vehicles. A motorcycle with a side car is a three wheeled vehicle and does not require the motorized two wheeled vehicle license to operate.
The governor was driving a three wheeled vehicle... a motorcycle with a side car.
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