2020 Georgia Code
Title 40 - Motor Vehicles and Traffic
Chapter 6 - Uniform Rules of the Road
Article 1 - General Provisions
§ 40-6-11. Insurance Requirements for Operation of Motorcycles

1. For the purposes of this Code section, "motorcycle" means any motor vehicle traveling on public streets or highways having a seat or saddle for the use of the rider and designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground but excluding a tractor and a moped.
2. No owner of a motorcycle or any other person, other than a self-insurer as defined in Chapter 34 of Title 33, shall operate or authorize any other person to operate the motorcycle unless the owner has liability insurance on the motorcycle equivalent to that required as evidence of security for bodily injury and property damage liability under Code Section 40-9-37. Any person who violates this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
3. The operator of a motorcycle shall keep proof or evidence of the minimum insurance coverage required by this Code section in his or her immediate possession or on the motorcycle at all times when such person is operating the motorcycle but only under the same circumstances and of the same type as prescribed for operators of other motor vehicles in Code Section 40-6-10. Any person who violates this subsection shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $25.00; however, there shall be no suspension of the person's operator's license or motor vehicle license tag for a violation of this subsection.
4. 1. Insurance coverage information from records of the Department of Revenue shall be prima-facie evidence of the facts stated therein and shall be admissible as evidence in accordance with Code Section 24-9-924 for the purposes of this Code section.
   2. Every law enforcement officer in this state shall request the operator of a motorcycle subject to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Code section to produce proof or evidence of minimum insurance coverage required by this Code section at any time the law enforcement officer stops the motorcycle or requests the presentation of the driver's license of such operator.
5. An owner or operator of a motorcycle shall not be issued a citation by a law enforcement officer for a violation of this Code section if the sole basis for issuance of such a citation is that the law enforcement officer is unable to obtain insurance coverage information from the records of the Department of Revenue.

(Code 1981, §40-6-11, enacted by Ga. L. 1990, p. 2048, § 5; Ga. L. 1992, p. 2785, § 22; Ga. L. 2000, p. 429, §§ 6, 6A; Ga. L. 2003, p. 261, § 6; Ga. L. 2011, p. 99, § 60/HB 24; Ga. L. 2019, p. 1056, § 40/SB 52.)

The 2019 amendment, effective May 12, 2019, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted "the Department of Revenue" for "the department" near the beginning of paragraph (d)(1) and at the end of subsection (e).

- Ga. L. 2000, p. 429, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "(a) The General Assembly finds that a significant number of motor vehicle owners in this state fail to meet the requirements of existing law for minimum motor vehicle liability insurance. The General Assembly finds further that enforcement of such requirements is made difficult by existing methods and procedures for tracking insurance coverage and providing proof of insurance.

"(b) The General Assembly declares that the purpose of this Act is to improve enforcement of minimum motor vehicle liability insurance requirements by providing the Department of Public Safety with updated information from insurers regarding those vehicles for which minimum motor vehicle liability insurance coverage is in effect, which information may be made accessible to law enforcement officers throughout the state, all without hampering the underwriting activities of any insurer or changing existing penalties for operating a motor vehicle without minimum liability insurance coverage."

Ga. L. 2011, p. 99, § 101/HB 24, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that this Act shall apply to any motion made or hearing or trial commenced on or after January 1, 2013.

- For article, "Evidence," see 27 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 1 (2011). For article on the 2011 amendment of this Code section, see 28 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 1 (2011). For note on the 2003 amendment to this Code section, see 20 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 208 (2003).

Cited in Alexander Underwriters Gen. Agency, Inc. v. Lovett, 177 Ga. App. 262, 339 S.E.2d 368 (1985).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Editor's notes.

- In light of the similarity of the statutory provisions, opinions under former Code Section 33-34-14, are included in the annotations for this Code section.

- Former O.C.G.A. § 33-34-14 required that motorcycle liability insurance policies include coverage for guest passengers of at least the minimum coverage required under O.C.G.A. § 40-9-37. 1983 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U83-59 (decided under former § 33-34-14).