Robert Sullivan, writing for Richmond’s Palladium-Item, has an article on Richmond’s scooter/moped ordinance. Apparently by August 1, scooters operated in the city must be registered with the city for a fee of $35. In addition, the following restrictions are imposed:
You have to be 15 or over, and anyone under 18 has to wear protective head gear. You have to carry a valid state ID or driver’s license. Speed limit of 25 mph.
I’ll be interested to see if anyone challenges the authority of the city to adopt this ordinance. I’m not immediately aware of anything prohibiting it, but there might be a state preemption argument to be made. The default setting under our Home Rule scheme is that municipalities have the authority to engage in regulation, but once the state steps into an area, municipalities aren’t allowed to regulate in that area anymore absent specific authority from the state. I’m not immediately aware of motor vehicle laws specifically pertaining to mopeds; but the State has adopted a system regulating motor vehicle traffic on Indiana’s roadways. So, it depends on how you define the scope of state activity for preemption purposes.
This article also caught my eye because a friend & I were discussing the use of mopeds and scooters yesterday. He’s an avid bicyclist, and he got the sense that people on bicycles were treated with more respect by people in cars than did people on mopeds and the like. Maybe it’s simply a speed differential thing – it’s just easier to get around bicycles. But, it could be a social stigma thing – there’s often an assumption that adults on mopeds or scooters are riding them because they’ve done something wrong; probably gotten their license yanked for a DUI or something. (I’ve heard them called DUI-mobiles or liquor-sickles.) More than once, I’ve heard it suggested that someone who gets their license pulled shouldn’t be allowed to operate a moped – the theory being that part of the punishment should be that the person isn’t allowed to operate motorized transport of any kind.
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