MONTGOMERY, Alabama --- The Alabama Department of Public Safety is trying again to change state law to require drivers to pass a test to be licensed to drive a motorcycle.

This year's proposal is the latest effort to resolve a confusing issue for the public and police.

Under current law, anybody with a regular driver's license can drive a motorcycle legally. Alabama appears to be the only state where that's the case, given the additional skills and knowledge needed to safely drive a two-wheeler.



When the Legislature overhauled the state driver’s license law in 1995, it left out a requirement for drivers to have the M designation on their license to operate a motorcycle.

But that wasn’t discovered until years later.

For years, the state required those who wanted an M designation to pass a multiple choice, motorcycle knowledge test. Drivers paid $5 to take the test.

And for years, the state enforced the law that was not on the books, writing people tickets who did not have the M designation, said Capt. Guy Rush, assistant chief of the driver license division at DPS.

Rush said a lawsuit challenging the state’s authority to require the M designation brought the oversight to light.

Since then, DPS has been trying to fix the problem. Rush said this is the seventh year for a bill to plug the gap in the law.

HB 535 by Rep. Allen Farley, R-McCalla, would authorize DPS to require the M designation and a test. It’s the fourth year for Farley to carry the bill.

“It will give the Department of Public Safety the statutory authority to issue a motorcycle license,” Rush said. “Presently there is no authority.”

Douglas Shinkle of the National Conference of State Legislatures said that after doing research and talking to other experts, he knows of no other state that does not require a motorcycle license or special endorsement on a regular license to drive a motorcycle.

A House committee approved Farley’s bill on Wednesday. But Farley said it’s a longshot to pass with only eight meeting days left in the legislative session.

Farley, a former police officer and assistant sheriff in Jefferson County, said he was surprised when DPS came to him three years ago and asked him to sponsor the bill. Farley did not know there was no license requirement. It's apparently not common knowledge.

That’s partly by design. Rush said DPS hasn’t publicized the gap in the law.

Rush said as a general practice, when someone asks for a motorcycle license designation, driver’s license offices don’t tell them it’s not required. Instead they offer the test, which is now free.

Rush said the don’t-tell policy is motivated by safety concerns.

“It is certainly more safe for people to take a test before they get on a motorcycle,” he said.

It’s also important for drivers who cross state lines. An Alabama motorcyclist stopped in a neighboring state who doesn’t have the M designation can be ticketed, Rush said.

Although the test is free, drivers who pass it pay $18.50 to get the new license with the M designation. That’s the same fee for a duplicate license if a license is lost.

There’s another confusing aspect to the story. Many drivers in their 40s and older already have an M on their license even if they never asked for it. Farley said the M was automatically added for those who had a license as of about 1987. If Farley’s bill passed, the new test requirement would not apply to them.

Farley said versions of the bill in previous years specifically called for a motorcycle skills test. He said that would be good policy but the state does not have the testing sites or personnel in place to make that feasible now.

But giving the state the legal authority to require the knowledge test would help, Farley said.

He said unsafe motorcycle drivers not only pose a danger to themselves, but other drivers who might have to swerve or slam on their brakes to avoid them.

“It’s all about saving lives,” Farley said.