Doing a wheelie on a Utah highway just got a lot more expensive

New law targets two risky riding moves

Utah now has specific penalties for motorcyclists who split lanes or pop wheelies on highways. HB 190 took effect on Jan. 1, 2026, giving officers a clear framework to crack down on both behaviors.

Lane splitting means weaving a motorcycle between lanes while traffic is moving. A wheelie means lifting the front wheel off the ground while riding.

Both were already illegal in Utah, but the new law spells out exactly what happens when riders get caught. Rep. Norman Thurston, a Republican from Provo, sponsored the bill.

Record motorcycle deaths drove the push

The law didn’t come out of nowhere. Fifty-three motorcyclists died on Utah roads in 2024, the highest number in 15 years.

That year, 281 people total died in Utah traffic. Most motorcycle deaths involved single riders in single-vehicle crashes, with speed, lack of protective gear, and loss of control leading the way.

Thurston said a constituent pushed him to act, asking him to address reckless motorcycle behavior on Utah freeways.

Penalties escalate fast for repeat offenders

A first offense gets a rider’s motorcycle endorsement suspended for 90 days. Get caught again, and that jumps to 180 days.

A third violation can mean losing the endorsement altogether. Riders who don’t have an endorsement at all get their regular driver’s license suspended instead.

On top of all that, officers can impound the motorcycle right there on the spot during a traffic stop.

License plate rules got tighter too

The law also tightens rules on how riders display their plates.

Motorcycle plates now need to sit at least 12 inches off the ground and stay visible at all times, with no tinted or colored covers allowed.

Riders can’t tuck plates under the wheel well or hide them in hard-to-spot positions. There’s an exception if luggage or a trailer partly blocks the view.

The same escalating suspension penalties apply for plate violations. Law enforcement noted that cameras helped catch many speeding riders, so visible plates matter.

Lane filtering stays legal under certain conditions

Here’s an important distinction: this law doesn’t touch lane filtering, which is a separate and legal practice in Utah.

Filtering lets motorcyclists move between lanes of completely stopped vehicles on roads with speed limits of 45 mph or less.

The road must have two or more lanes going the same direction, and the rider can’t go faster than 15 mph while filtering. Utah legalized lane filtering back in 2019 and was one of the first states to allow it.

Lawmakers passed the bill with almost no opposition

Thurston introduced HB 190 on Jan. 13, 2025.

The House Transportation Committee advanced it with a unanimous vote, and the full House passed it 70-2. The Senate followed with a 24-0 vote.

Gov. Spencer Cox signed it on March 25, 2025, setting it to take effect on Jan. 1, 2026. That kind of bipartisan support is rare, but the rising death toll gave lawmakers little reason to push back.

Motorcycle deaths jumped again in 2025

The numbers got worse before the law could kick in.

At least 70 motorcyclists died on Utah roads in 2025, a roughly 32% jump over the 2024 record. July 2025 became the deadliest single month on record for motorcyclists in the state, with 14 deaths.

Overall Utah traffic deaths actually dropped to about 264 in 2025, a six-year low. But since HB 190 didn’t take effect until 2026, there’s no way to measure its impact yet.

Most riders killed lacked proper training

The data tells a troubling story about who’s dying on Utah’s roads. Only about 36% of riders killed in fatal crashes in 2025 had a motorcycle endorsement.

Fewer than 10% had ever taken a safety course. Utah Highway Patrol said the lack of training and proper endorsements made crash outcomes worse.

The Utah Department of Public Safety responded by offering discounted safety courses. A companion bill, HB 234, took effect on May 7, 2025, and raised fines for unendorsed riders to $350.

Speed played a role in nearly four in 10 deaths

About 39% of deadly motorcycle crashes in 2025 involved speeding.

Utah Highway Patrol urged riders to slow down, especially on curvy mountain roads where control gets tricky fast.

Even though the total number of motorcycle crashes dropped in 2025, the crashes that did happen hit harder.

Males made up about 72% of all road deaths in the state.

Few states allow any form of lane splitting

Utah’s approach stands out nationally. California remains the only state that allows full lane splitting through moving traffic.

A handful of other states allow limited lane filtering, including Arizona, Montana, Colorado, and Minnesota.

Utah was the second state to legalize filtering back in 2019.

Most states ban both practices entirely. Utah’s law tries to split the difference: keep filtering legal while cracking down on splitting with real penalties.

What riders and drivers need to know now

Lane splitting on any Utah highway now carries penalties that can build all the way to full license revocation. Lane filtering at low speeds between stopped vehicles stays legal under the existing rules.

Riders must keep their plates visible and properly mounted at all times, and officers can impound a motorcycle during a stop for any of these violations.

The Utah Department of Public Safety continues to push riders to take safety courses and get properly endorsed.

Lawmakers may push further in 2026

Motorcycle deaths kept climbing in 2025 even after HB 190 and HB 234 passed.

Utah Highway Patrol raised concerns about the rising death trend during interim legislative sessions last year. Lawmakers may consider more motorcycle safety measures during the 2026 session.

State officials say education, enforcement, and rider training all play a role in bringing deaths down. The state’s Zero Fatalities program continues to track crash data to guide future policy.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• The Utah discovery that literally saved America’s nuclear weapons program
• This ancient Utah site holds 90 rooms of evidence that rewrites Puebloan history
• How blasting through Zion’s cliffs created the most epic tunnel drive in America