(1) Every person operating a motorcycle shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of any other vehicle under this article, except as to special regulations in this article and except as to those provisions of this article which by their nature can have no application.
(2) For the purposes of a prearranged organized special event and upon a showing that safety will be reasonably maintained, the department of transportation may grant a special permit exempting the operation of a motorcycle from any requirement of this part 15.