We see plenty of motorcycles on the road, but one Ozarks community is concerned about a miniature version- called pocket bikes. And that's not the only mini-vehicle raising concerns. Theyy're concerns in the town of Green Forest, Arkansas. Pocket bikes were banned from city streets in Springfield, Branson and Nixa a few years ago. But a type of mini-truck is a newer issue. We talked to law enforcement to find out what's allowed on the streets, in Green Forest and elsewhere

Nice weather and high gas prices have more and more folks riding motorcycles, but police in Green Forest have been seeing more of these gas or battery powered bikes on the streets, called pocket bikes Gas Pocket Bikes.
"Over the last few months, we've seen a few come into the city- there's a few kids around town that's got them," says Green Forest Police Chief John Bailey. But Bailey has seen both kids and adults riding them. "The biggest problem and biggest concern is with the younger kids- we don't want anybody hurt out there, because these things are very very small," Bailey says. So Bailey hopes to soon have the pocket bikes outlawed. The Green Forest city council is considering an ordinance that would ban them on city streets and sidewalks.

But police have also been looking into other laws lately, concerning not mini-bikes, but mini-trucks. "There's been a few people that have farms around Green Forest that's purchased them," Bailey says.

Jim Newberry has been using a Japanese mini-truck for his poultry farms. "A lot of people use 4 wheelers and utility vehicles like Polaris Rangers and John Deere Gators and things, and these were quite a bit cheaper and had cabs with heat and stuff," says Newberry.

Another huge incentive- Newberry says it will get about 50 miles per gallon. But the trucks are for off-road use only in the U.S. and have a governor that limits their speed to 25 mph. So folks who saw them on Green Forest's city streets questioned their legality. Newberry says, "I have several farms leased in different directions from town, and we did check with the local law enforcement and the state as well."

Chief Bailey explains, "When you look at one of our laws, which is implement of husbandry, it's believed these could very well fall under that criteria, which puts it in the same line as tractors or any of other piece of farm equipment." The police chief says he's also waiting to hear the opinion of the Arkansas Attorney General about the mini-trucks. He says a state representative is pushing a bill that would let folks license and register them, but it's not clear if that could happen, because they don't comply with Federal EPA and Department of Transportation standards.