[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners (now Township Council) of the Township of Bristol 9-21-1977 by Ord. No. 925. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 10-20-1992 by Ord. No. 92-17]
Whereas the Township Council has the authority to prevent nuisances and to otherwise protect the health, safety, welfare and comfort of its residents; and whereas it has determined that the use of certain motorized vehicles in the nature of motorcycles, minibikes and mopeds (defined as "motorcycles," "motor-driven cycles" and "motorized pedalcycles" in the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code[1]) upon certain private and public property constitutes a severe annoyance, nuisance and hazard to persons and property; and whereas the operation of said vehicles on the places other than public highways is not otherwise regulated by statute or ordinance it is therefore deemed appropriate and necessary to establish the following regulations.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 101.
The following terms, for the purposes of this chapter, are defined as follows:
PERSONS
Includes natural persons, corporations, partnerships, public utilities, religious, educational and other institutions and governmental entities, including the Township of Bristol, the Bristol Township School District, the County of Bucks and municipal authorities.
PRIVATE PROPERTY
Any lands or real estate owned by persons other than governmental entities and including the lands of public utilities. Such lands include the parking areas and driveways thereof, power line rights-of-way, railroad rights-of-way, private roadways and greenbelt areas.
PUBLIC PROPERTY
Any lands or real estate owned by a governmental entity, including greenbelt, recreation areas, median strips, parking areas and driveways thereof.
VEHICLE
Includes vehicle, motorcycle, motor-driven cycle and motorized pedalcycle as said terms are defined in Section 102 of the Vehicle Code of 1976, Title 75 of Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Annotated.
A. 
No person shall hereafter operate a vehicle upon the private property of another or upon public property except on the following conditions:
(1) 
A person operating a vehicle upon private property shall have in his or her possession a valid written consent of the owner of said private property. In the event that said private property is not owned by a natural person, the said consent, to be valid, must be executed by a person duly authorized to do so on behalf of the owner.
(2) 
Vehicles may be operated only on such public property as may be so designated by formal action of the governing body of the governmental entity which owns the property and, in addition, which property has been posted with signs indicating the consent for such use.
B. 
Exceptions. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the parking areas and/or driveways of public property or private property when vehicles are operated thereon by persons licensed to operate said vehicles upon the highways of the commonwealth.
It is hereby prohibited for any person who is the owner of a vehicle to permit another person to operate said vehicle in violation of § 194-3 above, and to do so is a violation of this chapter.
Any person who operates a vehicle on private property or public property, where otherwise authorized under the provisions of this chapter, in a careless disregard for the safety of persons or property shall be in violation of this chapter. In prosecutions under this section, due consideration shall be given to the age and capacity of the operator and the conditions of the property.
[Amended 7-9-1991 by Ord. No. 91-15; 10-20-1992 by Ord. No. 92-17]
A. 
Any person who violates the provisions of § 194-3, 194-4 or 194-5 hereof shall, upon a determination of a violation, be ordered to pay to Bristol Township a penalty of no more than $100 for the first finding of a violation, plus the costs of enforcing this chapter; for the second finding of a violation of this chapter, said person shall be ordered to pay to Bristol Township a penalty of not more than $500 plus the cost of enforcing this chapter; and for each and every subsequent determination of a violation of this chapter by the same person, that person shall be ordered to pay a penalty to Bristol Township of not more than $1,000, plus the cost of enforcing this chapter. In default of payment of any fine and costs, said person shall be imprisoned for a term not exceeding 30 days.
B. 
This chapter shall be enforced pursuant to the recently adopted amendments to the Rules of Civil Procedure for District Justices. All language within this chapter which does not conform to the recent amendments is hereby deemed to now conform.
Any person over the age of 16 years charged with a violation of any provision of this chapter shall have all the rights of an adult and may be prosecuted under the provisions of this chapter in the same manner as an adult. The parent or guardian of any child under the age of 18 years who shall knowingly permit the child to violate any of the provisions of this chapter shall, in addition to said child, be in violation hereof and be subject to the fines as set forth in § 194-6 above.