Motorcycles are permitted in High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes in all fifty states and no highway with any federal funding may restrict access to motorcycles. From 23USC102:
TITLE 23--HIGHWAYS
CHAPTER 1--FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAYS
SUBCHAPTER I--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 102. Program efficiencies
(a) HOV Passenger Requirements.--
(1) In general.--A State transportation department shall
establish the occupancy requirements of vehicles operating in high
occupancy vehicle lanes; except that no fewer than 2 occupants per
vehicle may be required and, subject to section 163 of the Surface
Transportation Assistance Act of 1982, motorcycles and bicycles
shall not be considered single occupant vehicles.
(2) Exception for inherently low-emission vehicles.--
Notwithstanding paragraph (1), before September 30, 2003, a State
may permit a vehicle with fewer than 2 occupants to operate in high
occupancy vehicle lanes if the vehicle is certified as an Inherently
Low-Emission Vehicle pursuant to title 40, Code of Federal
Regulations, and is labeled in accordance with, section 88.312-93(c)
of such title. Such permission may be revoked by the State should
the State determine it necessary.
(b) Access of Motorcycles.--No State or political subdivision of a
State may enact or enforce a law that applies only to motorcycles and
the principal purpose of which is to restrict the access of motorcycles
to any highway or portion of a highway for which Federal-aid highway
funds have been utilized for planning, design, construction, or
maintenance. Nothing in this subsection shall affect the authority of a
State or political subdivision of a State to regulate motorcycles for
safety.
The site
move
happened as planned. Most things are working. Some are not. URL-
rewriting is broken, meaning the archives, categories and pages are
inaccessible. I haven’t had time to look at it. Once the house move is
completed and I have net access from home I’ll fix it.
We’re closing on the purchase of our house tomorrow. I should be
nervous but I’m not, not the least bit. I’m relieved. You see, after
nine years of on and off looking we found the house in the
neighborhood in the city we hunted all over the New York Metropolitan area for. It
happens to be 140 miles away. A detail. Unless our lawyer, their
lawyer or the bank’s representative experiences spontaneous
combustion, UFO abduction, untimely demise or otherwise is a no-show
(in the last case someone will experience their untimely demise- maybe
the creative use of one of those soft-rubber-handled stainless-steel
melon ballers. Mmmmmmm, clean, perfect scoops), the deal should be
done in time for the start of happy hour. If anyone screws this up, it’s
probably going to be the bank. They neglected to give us the figures
for our bank checks and to get the title sorted out with the reasoning
that, “It’s not until Monday afternoon.” Maybe I’ll use a grapefruit spoon.
Did I mention we’re moving Friday? Oh, a detail. Two-thirds of our
stuff is boxed or ready for the movers. There are a lot of small things left, like packing
overnight bags and emptying the dressers, and not so small things that
have to wait for the next to the last day, like my office. We’re
turning up the gas and electric tomorrow- emailed the request, faxed
in documentation, they called us back to confirm. If Verizon and Time
Warner can do it we’ll have phone, cable and internet by the weekend
but I’m betting not. I’m irritated that these bright-futured
communication companies can’t or won’t do more in the scheduling of
residential service than they did in the 1950’s. They could learn a
bit about customer service from, of all places, the power company here.
You wouldn’t know it from the sedimentation on my home office desk but
I am organized. I like organization and moving disrupts that, I’m
depending on a lot of other people, it makes me anxious. Nathan is not
taking this move well either and it’s easy to see why: he’s teething-
miserable in it’s own right- and the apartment is a maze of boxes
stacked taller than him; it’s hot and muggy (ah, summer in
Brooklyn…) and the daily routine is not being followed; both Mom and
Dad are tense and not paying him the 100% attention he expects (where
do babies get this insistent idea that the world does, in fact,
revolve around them?); to top it off, Mom and Dad keep pulling these
squeaking reels of tape around the boxes.
I know, Hallmark holiday and all that- it dates to Calvin Coolidge who noted it as a national day and Lyndon Johnson under
whom it was designated the 3rd Sunday of June- but this is my first Father’s Day. The cards are nice and the family got together
for an early dinner but what really gets me is that my Dad remarked how proud he is and how well I’m doing as a parent.
I suppose it wasn’t a sure thing ten or fifteen years ago, but I’m closer to forty than to twenty now and I always had a
good example.
Just like the last time, I’m imposing on Bill and moving this vanity site to his colo’ed box until I work out the upcoming move. I expect I’ll inflict downtime on myself and will not reply to email quickly. With a bit of care (and luck) the move will go smoothly.
