(a) Every person operating an all-terrain vehicle upon a public road or highway of this state shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by the provisions of chapter seventeen-c of this code except where inconsistent with the provisions of this article and except as to those provisions of chapter seventeen-c of this code which by their nature can have no application.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, a motor vehicle operator's license is not required of an operator of an all-terrain vehicle when he or she is operating said vehicle in conformity with the provisions of subdivision (2), subsection (a) or subsection (b), section one of this chapter except when the operator is under the age of eighteen and is transporting a passenger under the age of eighteen.