Scooters steer around rules

Parents, police, dealers confused by laws governing use, licensing of motorized Go-Peds

By Dwayne Robinson
Stuart/Port St. Lucie News staff writer
September 14, 2003

[Reprinted with permission of The Stuart News]

For two years, small-business owner Bob Marion has been selling motorized scooters in Port St. Lucie. 

Although small in size and simple in function, the scooters have been a source of confusion and contention among parents, dealers, lawmakers and police in Martin and St. Lucie counties. 

Marion, who owns Pedal Magic Bicycles & Scooters Inc., said he only sells Go-Peds — a popular brand name of the scooters — to adults. He provides information on the scooters' legal status, but for some parents, the law is irrelevant when it comes to keeping children busy and off street corners, he said. 

"If this is going to keep my kid out of trouble, I'm getting it — no matter what the law says," Marion quoted a patron as saying. 

What the law says is the root of all the confusion. 

In 2002, the state Legislature excluded motorized scooters from the definition of "motor vehicle" in the motor vehicle statute. 

The law defines a motorized scooter as "any vehicle not having a seat or saddle for the use of the rider, designed to travel on not more than three wheels, and not capable of propelling the vehicle at a speed greater than 30 miles per hour on level ground." 

However, the Legislature did not exclude the scooters from the definition of "motor vehicle" in statutes regulating licenses for drivers and motor vehicles. 

According to information from Robert Sanchez, a spokesman for the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, that means any licensed driver can operate a motorized scooter on public roads and streets if the scooter has a tag and registration. 

There is only one minor problem: The scooters can't be registered. 

Randall Thompson, a senior highway safety specialist for the department, said no tag office will register them, because there is no method of doing so. The scooters do not have vehicle identification numbers and were not designed to display a tag, he said. 

Despite the confusion over the laws, the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office said it has the situation under control. 

"We haven't really had a problem with them," Chief Deputy Garry Wilson said. "And when we do, we usually warn the driver and parents and we really haven't had any recurrences." 

He said deputies have not given out any tickets to people riding the scooters. 

In Martin County, an April campaign to warn users that sheriff's deputies would start issuing citations for riding without a license did the trick, Capt. Bob Pryor said. 

"Evidently, the parents got the information," he said. "We've gone from like 10 calls a day on them to none." 

Pryor, who verbally warned one youth in his neighborhood, said not one written warning or citation had to be issued since the campaign was announced through the media. 

The scooters are not a big problem in Stuart either, Sgt. Martin Jacobson said. 

But what to do with the scooters, which can cost hundreds of dollars, might be a problem for some parents. 

Port. St. Lucie resident Fred Deluck said he bought four Go-Peds for his four sons, between the ages of 8 and 14, last Christmas. If police were to tell him that they cannot use them, he said he would "still let them ride because they enjoy them." 

"They got to have something to do," he said. 

His neighbor, Eileen Leibe, who also bought the scooters for her 14- and 10-year-old sons last Christmas, said she would probably sell them. 

"It's not worth the hassle," she said. 

The Legislature can change the laws governing motorized scooters, but some lawmakers are divided on the issue. 

"I'm not going to be the one to say your 12-year-old or 13-year-old can't ride it," said state Rep. Richard Machek, a Delray Beach Democrat who represents parts of Martin and St. Lucie counties. "And I don't want to be the one blowing the whistle on family fun." 

Machek said he does not think riders should need a driver's license to operate the scooters, but he does want some safety requirements for pre-teens. 

Rep. Joe Negron, a Republican who represents much of Martin County, disagreed. 

"I think they should be treated as motor vehicles, and I think you should have a license to operate (them)," he said. "It's a safety issue." 

Negron, who said he voted for the 2002 bill that excluded the scooters as "motor vehicles," wants to clear up the language regarding the scooters. But he thinks the scooters can be dangerous to motorists, pedestrians and the people who ride them, he said. 

Riders can make the scooters go faster — beyond their legal limit — by tinkering with them, and not all children wear helmets, pads and other safety gear when riding, he said. 

However, he favors exceptions for riding at racetracks or parks designed to accommodate the scooters with adult supervision. 

Now, the only place unlicensed drivers can ride the scooters is on private property, in gated communities that allow them and possibly some parks, Thompson said. 

Young people might be able to ride motorized scooters in a park where there is no motor vehicle traffic, if government officials approve. 

"As far as the state is concerned, I don't see anything that prevents that in state law," Negron said, noting a judge would have the final say in the matter. 

St. Lucie County Park Manager Jim Cummings said he is not aware of any parks in the county that allow motorized scooters, and the authority to allow them doesn't rest with him. 

"The ultimate decision is made by the County Commission," he said. "They make policy decisions on everything." 

Go-Ped dealer Marion said it's been a goal to get a place for children to ride the scooters, and he wants government officials to help. 

"The problem is not going to go away," he said. "That's one thing they need to remember. They're here to stay." 

Staff writer Gabriel Margasak contributed to this report.

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Motorized scooter laws 

To operate on public roads:

• Riders must be 16 years or older with a minimum of a Class E driver's license.
• Motorized scooters must be registered and have a tag.
• Motorized scooters cannot be ridden on sidewalks.
• Unlicensed drivers can ride on private property and in gated communities and parks that allow them.

Penalties:

• Riding the scooters without a license is a second-degree misdemeanor.
• Riding the scooters without a tag or registration is a non-criminal traffic infraction. 

— Source: Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and Florida Statutes