Schwarzenegger Has No Motorcycle License

Tuesday, January 10, 2006; 6:26 PM

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger gestures toward the stitches above his upper lip from an injury received during a motorcyle accident he was involved in over the weekend, at the start of a news conference where he unveildd his proposed $125.6 billion, 2006-07 state budget, in Sacramento, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2006. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Harley Davidson owner who rides regularly along the California coast, said Tuesday that he never bothered to obtain a motorcycle license because he "never thought about it." "I just never really applied for it," he told reporters during a state budget briefing. "It was just one of those things that I never really did." Schwarzenegger needed 15 stitches Sunday to repair a cut lip he suffered when his motorcycle collided with a car near his Los Angeles home. His 12-year-old son, Patrick, was riding in a sidecar and was treated for cuts and bruises. Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Margita Thompson said the governor's driver's license allows him to drive a motorcycle with a sidecar. But she conceded he probably took years of illegal motorcycle rides because he lacked an endorsement on his license that would permit him to drive a motorcycle without a sidecar. To get such an endorsement, a motorcycle rider must pass a skills test given by the state Department of Motor Vehicles or take a motorcycle training course from a program approved by the California Highway Patrol. Driving a motorcycle without the proper license is an infraction that can result in fines ranging from $100 to $250 or more.Schwarzenegger said he had a motorcycle license when he lived in Europe, but never thought about getting another one after he arrived in the United States in 1968."He acknowledges he needs to get it," Thompson said.

California Highway Patrol officers accompanied Schwarzenegger on Sunday's ride, but police spokesman Steve Kohler declined to discuss if officers had checked, or would check in the future, whether the governor had a proper license. Kohler said he could not disclose such information because it involved Schwarzenegger's protective detail.  

The Associated Press