Cops: Arnold Lacked Motorcycle License

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vowed to update his driver's license after police determined he had been riding his Harley Davidson illegally when he got into a minor accident over the weekend.

Schwarzenegger "will move forward to get the appropriate endorsement," the governor's spokeswoman, Margita Thompson, said Tuesday, two days after the accident that left him with 15 stitches in his upper lip.

Police did not cite the governor because they arrived after the accident. Officers referred their findings to the city attorney's office, which will determine whether Schwarzenegger should be cited for an infraction.

City attorney spokesman Jonathan Diamond said the office had not received the LAPD report. Driving a motorcycle without the proper license can result in fines ranging from $100 to $250 or more.

But while police determined that the governor had violated a traffic law, other agencies disagreed, citing different sections of the state vehicle code.

Spokesmen for the California Highway Patrol and state Department of Motor Vehicles said the governor's basic Class C license allowed him to ride the motorcycle with its sidecar attached.

Schwarzenegger's 12-year-old son, Patrick, was riding in the sidecar during the accident but was not injured. Both Schwarzenegger and his son were wearing helmets.

Schwarzenegger, a Harley Davidson owner who rides regularly with friends along the California coast, said Tuesday that he never bothered to obtain a California motorcycle license because he "never thought about it."

Schwarzenegger said he had a motorcycle license when he lived in Europe but never considered obtaining another one after he immigrated to the United States in 1968.

"I just never really applied for it," he said.