In the United States, do motorcycles have the same rights as cars?
Posted by Newchapter2026@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 74 comments
For instance, when going to a restaurant or a shopping mall for a meal, can they occupy a parking space alone?Also, are the police often in cahoots with towing companies, preying on people who park illegally to extort money?
Chicago_Avocado@reddit
Yes, although some motorcycles have more flexibility when parking. Also, in some states you can drive down the middle of the road when traffic is deadlocked. (Its a legal exception for air cooled motorcycles)
Newchapter2026@reddit (OP)
Why isn’t water-cooled [motorcycles] an exception?
Chicago_Avocado@reddit
All motorcycles are excepted because air cooled motorcycles exist.
Technical-Bath9108@reddit
In some states a motorcycle can marry a car.
Thelonius16@reddit
Not sure a parking space counts as a right. It would be up to whoever owns the lot.
But generally a motorcycle is treated the same as a car.
Salty_Permit4437@reddit
There are regulations that affect private parking lots. For example you cannot park in a handicap space unless you have a handicap permit.
shelwood46@reddit
And they are reluctant to give handicapped placards/plates to motorcycles, though there was a guy in my area who used one for his tri-wheel thingie (not sure what it is called)
nvkylebrown@reddit
Trike, or reverse-trike if it's 2 wheels in front.
Grand_Raccoon0923@reddit
They can take up a whole space alone. Often though, if there’s more than one, they will park together if the space is large enough. Also, some parking lots have specific motorcycle parking spaces.
sparklyspooky@reddit
Question: Is it a "came together, park together" thing? Or if you see a rando that you think you can park next to, is it socially acceptable?
GirthyOwls@reddit
I think it tends to be “come together park together”. That being said, if there is limited parking availability sometimes a random motorcycle will park in the same spot as another as long as there is enough room.
Deolater@reddit
My experience over a couple of years as a lowly scooter driver (250cc though, not a DUI scooter) is that all motorcyclists are friends by default
El_Culero_Magnifico@reddit
Except for the Harley riders. They tend to shun other bikers. I used to want a HD but was afraid of becoming a bigger asshole than I already am.
Most riders of other makes will often wave or acknowledge other riders as they pass on country roads.
nvkylebrown@reddit
I haven't experienced this as a non-Harley rider. They seem just as friendly as anyone else.
TheRealManlyWeevil@reddit
depends on regional culture, this was definitely the case when i lived in florida and rode a sport bike and no cruiser would even acknowledge a wave, but in pennsylvania everyone waved to everyone.
GOTaSMALL1@reddit
Harley riders (which I am) say the same thing about Sport Bike riders… and so on.
Some people are just assholes.
El_Culero_Magnifico@reddit
Valid point. There are plenty of cool harley guys and plenty of sport bike dicks. I will say, that when I rode more frequently, guys on anything but Harley would almost always acknowledge a passing biker, whereas with HD riders it was only about maybe 1 in 10. Though maybe things have changed in the last few years.
GOTaSMALL1@reddit
I think they have probably slowed down with the attitude has more of the old heads ride less or quit.
-Boston-Terrier-@reddit
It’s like owning a boat. It’s just mandatory that everyone stop what they’re doing and wave when you pass another boat.
Certain_Expression41@reddit
It is, however, significantly less acceptable to offer to toss another biker a beer.
-Boston-Terrier-@reddit
Technically tossing the biker a beer is a gray area.
It's drinking the beer that's frowned upon.
Astronaut6735@reddit
Except for the outlaws.
JerkOffToTitties@reddit
Its up to whoever gets there first. If you want to have the space to yourself, you park so nobody else can get in the space. If you are ok with/want someone else to park in the same spot, you park so theres extra room
Recent_Permit2653@reddit
I’ve taken up a corner of a parking spot before, and come back to a random taking the other half. May be different in different places. Etiquette varies widely and strangely in different parts of the country.
GOTaSMALL1@reddit
Rider.
If the other bike is to one side and has left plenty of room there’s no issue. But getting to close or blocking another bike in is a sick move.
Hyp3rgol1c@reddit
I never park my bike next to another bike in the same parking space. Mine is usually center, backed in, and near the entrance to the space. I don't want other next to me unless we are together.
ITrCool@reddit
Same rights as cars yes. They are still considered a motor vehicle in all 50 states.
Police are hardly in cahoots with tow companies. That tends to often be cities, property owners, and behind the scenes sometimes even racketeering rings. (Not always, there are definitely legit tow companies all over the place)
Snawer_brillant@reddit
U literally support maga
AskAnAmerican-ModTeam@reddit
Your comment was removed as it violates Rule 12, “Answers and comment replies should be serious and useful.”
Please consider this a warning as repeated violations will result in a ban.
If you have questions regarding your submission removal - please contact the moderator team via modmail.
Fadedthroughlife@reddit
Motorcycles have more rights than cars, as in some states, they can filter/split traffic according to that states specific laws. Other than that, motorcycles are considered cars in terms of parking and all other road laws
MossiestSloth@reddit
In some places, theyre too light to trigger the light change sensors at traffic lights so if its night time they can treat red lights as stopsigns
Fadedthroughlife@reddit
Oh my god. We have that here and i use it. Ours is written without a specific wait time, instead it's just you have to wait a "reasonable" amount of time
MossiestSloth@reddit
Yeah, I coincidentally witnessed a left on red for a motorcycle about 10 minutes before I saw this post. I forgot that was how the sensor system and laws worked for a moment so my first reaponse was "holy shit this guybwas so deliberate about running the light" before it clicked we were on sensor mode
loweexclamationpoint@reddit
And apparently have higher speed limits when doing so!
Fadedthroughlife@reddit
As a rider myself, my cop out excuse is that moving a little faster than traffic allows you never stay in someone's blind spot and actually can keep a rider safer, as you are never around someone long enough for them to merge/turn into you.
My actual reason is that speed is fun, and my bikes want to go faster. That, and 60 mph on a bike feels a lot slower to me than 69 mph in a car, so you naturally just go a little faster.
dhrisc@reddit
And the actual and final backup reason is no cop will be able to catch a motorcycle if they dont want to be caught anyway.
asphid_jackal@reddit
Well, not without killing the rider, anyway. Most of what you can do to stop someone in a real vehicle would absolutely murderize someone on a bike
dhrisc@reddit
My point is in most cases they could not even catch up to the rider. Most cops now drive heavy cars or suvs that couldn't dream of accelerating or turning as fast as an average bike, let alone get through traffic half as nimble.
loweexclamationpoint@reddit
Jane Addams Tollway, summer afternoons, those numbers are more like cars going 80, bikes cutting in between 90 to 100.
raysebond@reddit
I don't know if it's official policy, but my MSFT instructors advised moving faster than the flow of traffice when on the "superslab."
baalroo@reddit
This is what the cop who came in to speak at our motorcycle training course before I got my M license told us.
_jagwaz@reddit
They also are usually able to get away with much louder exhausts then cars in most states
Fadedthroughlife@reddit
Yeah, only state i know of that enforces the modified exhaust is California, other than that its pretty much a free for all
DoublePostedBroski@reddit
Yes motorcycles have to adhere to the same regulations as cars.
And it’s often not the police who are in cahoots with towing companies, but property owners and sometimes cities themselves.
-Boston-Terrier-@reddit
Just to be clear: “cahoots” implies wrong doing.
Property owners are well within their rights to only allow parking for customers then call a tow truck when someone parks in their lot and goes elsewhere. There’s no secret collusion between property owners and tow trucks. Signs are posted basically everywhere in the lot.
Alarming-Substance82@reddit
Oh trust me, the property owners can be in cahoots with tow companies. I was towed from a parking space from my own apartment building. It was an unmarked handicap parking space. But supposedly I should’ve still known it to be handicapped 😒
WhatABeautifulMess@reddit
There are absolutely places this happens.
PrimaryHighlight5617@reddit
If someone is parked illegally then I don't consider it extortioned if you get your car towed 😂 you parked illegally dude! Towing is the consequence!
Lower_Neck_1432@reddit
A motorcycle takes the whole space of a car. With exceptions: You can ride two abreast, but most states do not allow filtering at all. You ride in the same space that a car would occupy.
knowlessman@reddit
They have the same rights and responsibilities, but not the same respect. So legally you can park in a car parking spot. In fact you can get a ticket for not. But socially parking a bike in a full parking lot brings out the karens who will push a bike out of a spot to take the spot, so some riders illegally park on sidewalks and the like, and in many cases that's overlooked.
cschoonmaker@reddit
Funny, most Karens won't touch a bike because of what would happen to their car as a result. Even bikers know you don't touch another persons bike without permission.
LastCookie3448@reddit
Yes, tho they think they’re entitled to more.
94grampaw@reddit
Same if not more rights
TheOwlMarble@reddit
Generally yes, but as to the second part, shockingly if you illegally park in a tow away zone you may in fact be towed.
What do you mean by in cahoots? They don't do invent fake tow away zones just to fine people for fun. Also, most tow zones are on private property. I don't think the police really even get involved then.
Tron_35@reddit
Ive never heard of police and tow people being in cahoots, im not too sure how thatd work, like if someone is parked illegally they can be towed. But from my experience tow companies actually dont need the police too much, they know the area and its parking laws, a lot of drivers just roam around the area and if the driver sees someone parked illegally they'll just tow them.
Newchapter2026@reddit (OP)
I just watched a video on Chinese TikTok. A man and his friends had just walked into a restaurant when a car app push notification popped up. They rushed outside immediately but found their car gone. They then tracked their vehicle via the GPS in the app, followed a tow truck, and finally arrived at a vehicle release office.
Staff told them they had to pay a $402 fee. The shopping mall’s property management prohibits restaurant customers from using its parking lot, so they reported the issue to the police, who then arranged the tow truck to impound the car.
Link: 4.87 复制打开抖音，看看【汤黑头子的作品】在美国吃个饭车就没了？到处都是斩杀线？！ # 美国... https://www.iesdouyin.com/share/video/7632247162172931508/?region=CN&mid=7632247134464576306&u_code=16bhahehl&did=MS4wLjABAAAAX3D0r_7q3DpZLuZoOiSXy9epTmI6zasdsMhQPQwjcy520GK96y4jLGKI2eZFdZX6&iid=MS4wLjABAAAAPTe8XKfqOTLl9Cu-mEPpMt5X5cznqsT7mS5UPlUoCocP0OCQPRX3SuJcW1hswdhQ&with_sec_did=1&video_share_track_ver=&titleType=title&share_sign=wdSZSM3iTRCZU0s3sOEiUdG1bRkfPLRlIApVygk05EE-&share_version=380400&ts=1777043625&from_aid=1128&from_ssr=1&share_track_info=%7B%22link_description_type%22%3A%22%22%7D&utm_source=copy&utm_campaign=client_share&utm_medium=android&app=aweme&ug_share_id=7fe696edc38fa_1777044308610&activity_info=%7B%22social_author_id%22%3A%222704450207629207%22%2C%22social_share_id%22%3A%22100480763640_1777044308610%22%2C%22social_share_time%22%3A%221777044308%22%2C%22social_share_user_id%22%3A%22100480763640%22%7D&share_extra_params=%7B%22schema_type%22%3A%221%22%7D tRK:/ 05/21 H@v.FH
Tron_35@reddit
I mean if they aren't allowed to park there they aren't allowed to park there. How is it extortion?
Newchapter2026@reddit (OP)
They might think that $400 is too much.
Tron_35@reddit
Maybe a bit high but not crazy, a lot of that is to pay for the tow, and then part of that probably goes to the local city or some form of government as a fee.
MainelyKahnt@reddit
Yep, motorcycles are treated the same as cars in every way. Separate licensing process of course, but that's true pretty much everywhere. As for the cops/towing guys, it depends. I've definitely heard stories where the local deputy's brother/cousin is the tow guy and gives him all the business. But that's usually in super rural settings. In larger metropolitan areas there's different ways of splitting the towing contracts. Might be split into a few designated areas and one tow company is responsible for an area and another for another area. Some places it's first come first tow, so the tow guys tune into the radio and race to the scene as fast as possible when a tow request comes in.
the_real_JFK_killer@reddit
Usually police arent in cahoots with towing companies to get cash. Im not saying police here dont have corruption, but that very specific type of corruption isnt a common one. More often, its business owners who have quiet deals with towing companies to get them service for a kickback. Such as purposefully making parking rules unclear.
Thereelgerg@reddit
Cars don't have rights.
2quila@reddit
If you could not park alone... how would you ever be able to park? Would you always have to bring a second person with their own motorcycle?
groundhogcow@reddit
These are two different questions.
Yes, motorcycles are most often interchangeable in law and a single motorcycle may take up a full parking space.
The police are sometimes in cahoots with towing companies. More often it's city legislation in cahoots making special laws that allow more towing and forcing the towing to pay "fees" in exchange or preform other free services.
Peakbrowndog@reddit
Yes as to parking.
Police and tow trucks usually have a formal contract, approved by the city council. Typically there is a "wheel" system, where they rotate in order. There are often exceptions to the wheel for stuff that needs a flatbed, special getting needs, etc.
Yes, there's dirty stuff with tow trucks, especially in smaller cities and those without contracts. The extortion tricks are more likely private lot owners, though it's not typically extortion so much as very fast tows. There's a specific lot in my town that has a spotter there so day and will hook a vehicle up and be gone in less than 4 minutes. While they do comply with all state and local regulations, I assume the lot owner gets kickbacks.
Blatant "pay me or I will have you towed" isn't common, but "if you pay me half the tow fee, I'll unhook the car" is.
jreid1985@reddit
Yes and yes.
yummyjackalmeat@reddit
Yeah, a motorcycle can occupy any space a car does. Motorbike friendly places often have close parking for them which is cool, but otherwise they can and do just take up a space. Sometimes multiple will park in a space.
It has been exposed before, so it definitely happens, though businesses and property management companies are more likely to be in bed with the predatory towing companies.
Wunktacular@reddit
Motorcycles require an endorsement on the driver's license to operate, requiring additional lessons as well as paper and practical testing.
Motorcycles are generally treated the same as cars when parking. When riding with others, it is considered polite for multiple bikes to share the same car sized spot when possible, but if the lot is empty, it's okay to use multiple spaces.
Unless the parking belongs to a government facility, parking lots and their arrangements are generally handled by the business that owns them. There are no laws surrounding private parking. Unless you are causing a danger or inconvenience for others with how you parked, it is unlikely that you will be towed.
Lot owners work with towing companies to remove vehicles that are causing problems, but it is not the job of the police to enforce private parking rules on private lots.
The police will call to have you towed if you park illegally in the road or on a public lot.
In traffic, motorcycles have the same rights as cars and must follow all the same rules. Some states and localities allow motorcycles to filter through and around traffic. Others do not.
Salty_Permit4437@reddit
Yes they can take a whole space. Legally they have some more rights like being able to lane split in some states (eg California).
drnewcomb@reddit
Mostly motorcycles obey the same rules as cars. In some cases they are allowed to do things cars cannot do. Examples are lane splitting and proceeding against the light after waiting. Lane splitting is riding between the lanes of the highway. Proceeding against the light is because some motorcycles don’t have enough metal to activate the magnetic sensor that cycles the stop light. These both depend on the state law.
MollyOMalley99@reddit
Yes, a motorcycle can legally take an entire parking space. If they're nice, they will share a spot, but they're not required to.
Towing operators can be predatory. I can't say whether they are in "cahoots" with the local police, but there are definitely commercial property owners who have agreements with tow operators to tow anyone not following their parking rules.
Quirky-Bar4236@reddit
They are considered a vehicle and have the same rights.
If you park illegally then you may receive a fine from the city. If you park in an area that is considered a tow zone, typically fire lanes or other high importance use areas, then your car may be towed. It's not necessarily them being in "cahoots" to "extort" you.
Lovebeingadad54321@reddit
In reference to parking yes. Some smaller motorcycles are restricted from interstate highways, while some larger ones are built specifically for long range driving on highways.
And yes, police are always in cahoots with tow trucks.
LankyJeep@reddit
Yes and sort of but yes, Motorcycles are commonly parked in groups in a car space, so 2-3 motorcycles will occupy 1 car space, and some places have designated motorcycle parking spaces, but a Bike is still legally allowed to park in a standard space. Of course towing is still common but bikes are more annoying to deal with so aren’t towed as often but still will get tickets all the same