Assume that you are somewhere in the US, and pick any state you happen to know about…
Are you required (by law) to have a drivers license in your possession if you are driving a motor vehicle on private roads? (I always grab my DL even though I sometimes drive strictly on private roads thinking that having ID on me is always a good idea.) What if it’s a tractor or ATV and not a car? Does that make a difference?
I assume that unless you are driving on a public road this law doesn’t apply, however I think that you can be forced to produce your DL if you are stopped for some reason by the police in a parking lot.
IANAL but it’s my understanding that as long you either own the road or have the owner’s permission, you can do whatever you want including driving without a license or insurance. Also, and this may vary by state, but generally the police will not enforce traffic laws on private roads except in very specific situations.
Parking lots are different. Generally parking lots are considered public or the private lot’s owner has petitioned the police to patrol and enforce traffic laws on their property.
I believe in my state the answer depends on whether the private road is open to the public. If it’s open to the public, then all normal rules apply. If it’s a private road that is not open to the public, then the rules do not apply. Of course, there are a lot of new rules such as age restrictions on certain off road vehicles that would still apply. So, I’d answer with a big maybe.
If by “private road” you mean “road to which the public does not have access”, then I think the general rule is that you don’t need a licence.
But on a road which is privately-owned, but to which the public have access - e.g. on a university campus, hospital campus - then the usual traffic laws apply, including the licensing requirement. And this doesn’d depend on the owner asking for this; it happens as soon as he lets the public on to his road.
I have seen cases where the police will not even come to a accident in a parking lot. Reason no jurisdiction. The only time they will respond if the parties are not getting along.
They just settle it among themselves. It is very common in some places for the police not to respond to non-injury accidents even on public roads. In some cities, you can file a police report yourself for an accident online just for documentation for your insurance company to have on file but it doesn’t involve the actual police.
It depends. There are some kinds of private property that have their own police force – university campuses, as was mentioned above, is a common one. Others sometimes contract with local authorities. As UDS said, if the general public is allowed, traffic laws apply and can be enforced.
If the university have their own police force unless it is a state school they are only security department. The VC does not apply to private property.
It’s all about the access. If it says it’s a private road but it isn’t blocked, you had best obey all traffic laws.
I once took part in a test involving vehicles, a course, and alcohol. It was a closed course, and the disclaimer I signed said that I would not be liable for driving with alcohol on the closed course for the duration of the test, but I would be liable the minute they took the barriers down (it was in a large parking lot attached to a driving school, with a gate that could be open or could be locked. It was locked for the test).
That is simply not true. Private colleges and universities often have real police departments of their own and not security guards. My undergrad school Tulane does and it isn’t unusual in that regard.
Pretty much what others have said here. Driver’s licenses are only required for operating on public roads. Example: An acquaintance of mine, a professional truck driver lost his license for a period of time due to a DUI conviction. Wishing to still work his trade, he moved to Alaska, took a job driving for a lumber company that owned large tracts of private timberland with a network of private access roads. As I recall, he made considerably more $$ than he had driving OTR in the lower 48.
SS
Indeed. I have a friend who is a police officer for the Stanford University police force. He can do anything a regular policeman can do. Stanford is a private university.
When there are serious crimes on campus, such as robberies or rapes (not common, but it happens), he is the one who investigates, and if necessary, makes arrests.
If they are private then they are not law officers but employees of the school. A private organization does not have the athority to give law inforcement powers to its employees. They may have called themselfs the a Police Department but that does not make it true. It is possable for the city to set up a substation on the campus. Then they would be “real”.
Stanford is different because Stanford is a community, it has its own government. The Standford Shopping center was owned by the University ans the Standford Police had authority in sone areas the shopping center.
I am of sure what you are saying here. Private colleges and universities do have their own police departments made up of real police officers.
"The Tulane University Police Department includes 44 full-time commissioned officers who are trained at state-certified police academies and meet all the requirements of the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement Peace Officer Standards and Training Council…
They are commissioned to bear arms, make arrests, and exercise investigative powers by the State of Louisiana and the New Orleans Police Department. Many of our officers are recruited from state and local law enforcement agencies."
That’s not always the case…some private concerns do have their own police forces operated by authorized personnel with full police powers. One of the best-known cases is railroad police. These departments were originally authorized because railroads, while they were private concerns, were designated common carriers under interstate commerce regulation. Some other large concerns, especially those that own extensive real estate also have their own police forces. Some of these are authorized by federal or state authority while others simply hire security personnel that are deputized by the jurisdiction in which they work.
SS
For years I was on the Board of Trustees for a private island up in the Washington San Juans. We are separted from the mainland by about 8 miles of salt water, and have our own system of roads for use by the caretakers and (with golf carts or Shank’s Mare) by property owners.
None or the motor vehicles on the island are required to have a license plate. The police are totally not interested in this sort of thing.
Whenever we buy a new vehicle, this quite often leads to some interesting conversations down at the DMV when we go in to transfer title - they have some trouble understanding why we want a title, but not a license plate. We always win, though.