Scooter riders encounter confusion over rules
Riding through the gray areas
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| Erica Burrus photo/ Bill Wessells of Extreme Toy Store rides a Genuine Buddy 125cc scooter on the streets of Rock Hill. Riders of 125cc scooters must follow rules for motorcycles. |
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This lead her to find a vehicle for one - an Aprilia Scarabeo motor scooter, which she bought last summer for her commute.
Before she bought it, the Dogtown resident asked a lot of questions at the dealership. She's glad she did. Different municipalities have different rules for smaller scooters."It's kind of confusing, because each municipality has its own rules about it," she said. "They don't always enforce everything either, so you never know for sure."
Moore has since upgraded to a larger scooter with cylinder capacity of more than 50 cubic centimeters and which can go faster than 30 mph. Such larger scooters are governed by the same rules that regulate motorcycle use.
However, as more people buy the smaller scooters to save on gas, they are learning what Moore did - the rules change depending upon where you go in the area.
Donald Nemec and his wife, Jennifer, of Chesterfield learned their city requires license plates for the smaller capacity scooters, but the state will not license these smaller scooters.
They cannot, even if they want to, take the vehicle in and have it registered and licensed," said David Griffith, a spokesman for the Missouri Department of Revenue, which handles motor vehicles.
The Nemecs' two scooters now sit unused in their driveway. Nemec had used his to commute to work for three years prior to being ticketed in July.
The small community of Lakeshire in South County has a similar ordinance. Police Chief Dan Duffy said Lakeshire put in a comprehensive ordinance for all smaller capacity vehicles a couple of years ago when pocket bikes were a problem. Pocket bikes look like mini-motorcycles. Many people had purchased these low-visibility vehicles for underage riders, so some municipalities enacted ordinances intended to curb underage use.
The city of St. Louis also enacted legislation to deal with pocket bikes. Alderman Ken Ortmann, D-9th Ward, co-sponsored an ordinance to require anyone riding a small capacity motorized bicycle, as scooters are often called, to wear a helmet and display an orange or red flag at least 24 inches above the seat.
Myke Cowen Missen, one of the creators of the St. Louis Scooter Forum, www.stlscooterforum.com, said a lot of laws were passed to take care of the pocket bike problem, but scooter riders are now being affected by those laws.
Ortmann said the ordinance wasn't just meant as a deterrent to pocket bikes. He said the aldermen intended scooters to be included. He said it was about increasing safety and visibility.
"That was the total idea - safety comes first," Ortmann said. "I've seen a lot of people riding them without helmets. That's definitely one of the requirements. I don't see any flags, so they're still not abiding by what we have.
"To be honest, we don't have the police to enforce what individual people see out there."
Erica Van Ross, a spokeswoman for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, said officers report not having seen many people riding scooters in the city. She said they do ticket violations of the ordinance, but they have not noticed a significant number of riders without helmets.
One problem that police in various jurisdictions face is being able to determine whether a scooter is less than 50 cubic centimeters or whether it fits the definition of a motorcycle.
"Some of these scooters look larger than they actually may be," Griffth said.
Jeff Bach, owner of Extreme Toy Store in Rock Hill, said the majority of scooters his store sells have a capacity of less than 50 cubic centimeters. He said the store provides buyers with placards that state their capacity and read "no license plate required." The placard is meant to make it easy for police to recognize the small capacity scooters, but some riders also keep a copy of the state law with them.
Bach said his staff is knowledgeable about the laws in the local municipalities, but there are 91 of them in St. Louis County. He said the issue with Nemec in Chesterfield has been the first time he's seen scooters become an issue.
"There're a lot of laws that were put in place that are generally only enforced when they are used as a tool for somebody that really gets out of line," Bach said.
There also is a way to get a title issued using the statement of origin from the manufacturer, he said.
"The state has always titled them," Bach said. "Once in a while they will turn them down and say they won't."
Ed Reggi, who lives downtown, is one of the founders of the St. Louis Scooter Club, www.stlscooterclub.com. He said recent discussion amongst members has focused on what is legal and what is not legal. He said there's a lot of misinformation concerning areas scooter riders should avoid.
"A great deal of this is born through the pocket bikes," Reggi said.
The club recommend that its members take the Motorcycle Safety Foundation training course. The club also supplies information about which license bureaus are better about issuing license plates.
"We ultimately think all scooters should be motorcycle license endorsed," he said.
State Rep. Patricia Yaeger, D-96th District, sponsored a bill two years ago intended to make regulation of motorized bicycles consistent. She said she might introduce a more comprehensive bill that would require licenses and insurance for even the smaller capacity scooters.
"Under so many cc's, no license is needed, no insurance, but if someone crashes into a car or hits somebody, someone is going to be hurt," she said. "Where do you go to cover the damages?
"I'm not trying to make life hard for people, but at the same time we do have to have clarification and protection."
Yaeger said this is important as more people interested in fuel economy purchase scooters.
Scooters of less than 50 cubic centimeters can go as far as 75 to 100 miles per gallon, Reggi said. Even maxi-scooters of 400cc or more can get 50 mpg or more.
The cost is also attractive, with some better quality 49cc scooters starting at $2,000.
"We've sold every scooter we can get this year," Bach said. "Interest has definitely spiked for motorcycles and scooters - anything that gets good mileage has been very busy."
What are the scooter laws around St. Louis?
Missouri law defines a motorized bicycle as: "a two- or three-wheeled device having an automatic transmission and a motor with a cylinder capacity of not more than fifty cubic centimeters (50cc), which produces less than three gross brake horsepower and is capable of propelling the device at a maximum speed of not more than 30 MPH on level ground."
Drivers of such vehicles must have a driver's license, but the vehicle does not need to be licensed or titled and the rider is not required to wear a helmet.
However, some municipalities have placed restrictions on operation of these scooters Some do not differ from state law. Here are some examples:
St. Louis
Requires a helmet and an orange or red flag sticking up at least 48 inches above the seat to increase visibility.
Clayton
Does not allow motorized bicycles to be parked anywhere other than a designated parking space.
Lakeshire
Requires all such vehicles to be licensed.
Chesterfield
Does not allow vehicles with motors of less than 50cc on its streets.
Crestwood
Does not differ from state statute.
Sunset Hills
Does not differ from state statute.
Richmond Heights
Does not differ from state statute.
