Court Opinion

ID: 9703068
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 23:38:24.474238+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:21:45.204943
License: Public Domain

BROSKY, Judge,
concurring:
I fully agree with the result reached by the majority in this case, and I join the majority’s opinion. I believe, however, that some additional comments may be helpful.
The majority seems to imply that it was not necessary for the panel in Bindernagel v. Nationwide Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 335 Pa.Super. 419, 484 A.2d 773 (1984) to decide whether or not a trail bike was a “motorcycle” within the meaning of the No-fault Act, but that it is necessary for us to decide that issue in the case before us. In both cases, a dirt bike or trail bike (which I believe are synonymous terms) collided with a motor vehicle. In both cases, the trial court ruled that the dirt bike or trail bike was a “motorcycle”, and the trial court therefore denied recovery to the injured party riding the bike. In both cases, the injured party (or the injured party’s estate) argued on appeal that the trial court erred in finding that a trail or dirt bike was a “motorcycle,” the operator of which was to be excluded from No-fault benefits under Section 103 of the Act. The two cases are therefore identical, and our decision in this case should make it perfectly clear that Bindernagel is being overruled.1
As I view the legislative scheme of the No-fault statute, any individual who is injured through someone’s (either his own or another person’s) use of a “motor vehicle” is entitled to receive basic loss benefits. A pedestrian who is struck *534by a motor vehicle while crossing the street, even though he may be crossing illegally or otherwise breaking the law, will be entitled to receive the benefits. A person who is riding or driving a non-licensed recreational vehicle or some other motorized vehicle, such as a riding lawn mower, whether on or off the highway, will be entitled to the benefits if involved in an accident with a motor vehicle. The only exception to coverage will be a person who is riding or operating a “motorcycle,” because of the specific exclusion of § 1009.103. It is unfortunate that the legislature did not define “motorcycle” in the No-fault Act; however, accepting the definition of “motorcycle” found in the Statutory Construction Act, as the dissent would have us do, would lead to results inconsistent with provisions of the No-fault Act.
Section 103 of the No-fault Act defines “motor vehicle” as “a vehicle of a kind required to be registered under the ... Vehicle Code.” As the majority opinion notes [and as panels of our court have noted in Bindernagel v. Nationwide Mut. Auto. Ins., 335 Pa.Super. 419, 484 A.2d 773 (1984), and in Siefert v. Nationwide Ins., 289 Pa.Super. 160, 432 A.2d 1101 (1981) ], dirt bikes are not “motor vehicles,” since they cannot bé licensed. The dissent concedes this point.
A motorcycle clearly falls within the above definition, and is therefore a “motor vehicle.” Although not a holding, language of our Supreme Court in Singer v. Sheppard, 464 Pa. 387, 346 A.2d 897 (1975) seems to indicate that the Supreme Court would agree with this statement. The dissent in the case before us reaches the same conclusion. Thus, there appears to be complete agreement that under the No-fault Act: (1) a dirt bike is not a “motor vehicle,” and (2) a motorcycle is a “motor vehicle.”
By applying the definition of “motorcycle” found in the Statutory Construction Act, and by using common sense (which should never be used when attempting to interpret the No-fault Act), the dissent concludes that a dirt bike is a “motorcycle” within the meaning of the No-fault statute. *535Accepting the dissent’s conclusion that a dirt bike is a “motorcycle,” it follows that since a “motorcycle” is a “motor vehicle,” a dirt bike must also be a “motor vehicle.” This conflicts with our initial conclusion (with which the Dissent agrees) that under the No-fault Act, dirt bikes are not “motor vehicles.” I must therefore disagree with the dissent’s use of the definition of “motor vehicle” found in the Statutory Construction Act. However much dirt bikes may look like, feel like, and smell like motorcycles, it appears that we are precluded from concluding for purposes of the No-fault statute that dirt bikes are “motorcycles.” I therefore agree with the majority that a person operating a dirt bike which is involved in an accident with a “motor vehicle” is entitled to receive basic loss benefits under the No-fault Act.
SPAETH, President Judge, joins this concurring opinion.

. It should also be noted, however, that the issue raised sua sponte by the panel in Bindernagel; i.e. whether or not a dirt or trail bike is a “motor vehicle,” was correctly analyzed by the panel in Bindernagel. Pursuant to that analysis, I agree with the majority’s conclusion that a trail or dirt bike is not a “motor vehicle,” and therefore cannot be a "motorcycle.”