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.
yes, you've got it. When I was a young man and riding Hogs, you didn't have to have a special lincense, just a regular drivers lincense would do it. Then when dirt bikes became the rage and every one was riding bikes the great CA government decided that they should require a "special" license to ride bikes. It did nothing to reduce the amount of accidents(which of course it was claimed by politicians it would)but certainly increased the revenue to CA coffers(wasted of course like all CA taxes). Too bad the Gov didn't know the laws of the state he is supposed to be running:), but I think this law should be done away with, it is useless except for revenue gathering.
What an a$$!
I hadn't heard that re: 3 wheel vehicle licensing angle, but that sounds plausible as well.
Look for the state legislature to remedy that sometime soon in the future. ;-)
We need to call for his resignation immediately.
Standard procedure is to wait until a ticket is issued to pay a fine. Otherwise, the line at the courthouse would be insufferably long with not cited lawbreakers waiting in line to volunteer to pay not assessed fines.
As far as 'being treated as everyone else', I've been issued a couple/ three warnings in my driving career and I assume this is true for a lot of people who drive--except for a handful of saints.
Aside from that, I'm curious about the driver who actually caused the accident.
Police did not cite the governor and which will determine whether the governor should be cited for an infraction.
My point is that it is premature to call for anyone to pay a fine before it has been assessed.
If you have a beef with how the police handled this situation, then take it up with someone else.
...and he's the only person who ever rode a motorcycle without the right driver's license.
There are 3 classes of motor vehicle operator licenses: A, B & C. Any class may operate a motorcycle with an M1 endorsement. Operation of a motorcycle plus sidecar requires a Class C license which Schwarzenegger apparently posses or once possessed. He lacked the M1 endorsement available by either practical, driving test or completion of a safety class.
Did they ever ticket teddykennedy for his midnight ride without a license?
(RHETORICAL!)
First off, AhHnold should pay the fine and get the endorsement. As riders, we all know a few who play the same game with the endorsement crap, but rules is rules.
The illegal license connection is either for the imbeciles that do word association or chalk it up to an agenda driven editor/writer that has promises to keep to a (D).
In all my years of escorted rides, I've had my license checked once!
Thanks!
I remember getting a C and then had to pass the driving test, same as I went thru in Minnesota years ago..
Just like I thought, all along.
He's a motorcycle outlaw.
You don't need a motorcycle license to ride a motorcycle if there is a sidecar attached, just a regular automobile license. He was riding with a sidecar attached. He was not breaking the law.
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