Motor Scooter Safety - Moped Safety - ATVs Safety - UTV Safety - Electric Bike Safety - Pocket Bike Safety
 
TheScooterFamily.com is dedicated in keeping our customers informed and educated on Scooter Safety!!! Please remember that all motorized vehicles require extreme caution and care when operating, maintaining and riding. No matter what the speed you are operating at Be Safe, Be Aware!!
Safety Required Equipment:
1) All Scooter drivers must wear an approved bicycle helmet
2) Riding after dark requires the same white lighting and red and white or yellow reflectors as a bike.
3) Wear light colored clothes after dark
4) No scooter should be operated with out working brakes
5) Wear knee pads and elbow pads. (Wrist guards may make it difficult to grip the handle and steer the scooter
6) Children under age 8 should not use non-powered scooters without close adult supervision. Children under 12 should not ride motorized scooters.
7) Avoid gravel and uneven pavement, which can cause falls.
8) Don't ride scooters in traffic.
9) Wear sturdy shoes.
10) Owners of scooters should check with local authorities for local laws regarding scooters.
11) Don't dart out of driveways or from between parked cars.
12) Stop at all stop signs.
13) Carefully check for traffic and never swerve when looking over your shoulder.
14) Read and understand the instruction manual.
15) Observe all safety and warning labels on your scooter.
16) Scooters are intended for one rider. Never carry an additional person on board when scooting
17) Always be in control of your sccoter, do not ride under uncontrolable excessive speeds.
18) Avoid trick!!
Safety Maintenance:
1) Maintain your scooter in accordance with the manufacturers recomendations
2) Before you start your scooter do a scooter walk down
- Check that your brakes operate properly
- Check all of the fluids
- Clean your mirrors
- Check that your light are operable
- Check that tires are inflated per Spec
Safety Laws:
1) Don't SUI!!! - Scoot Under the Influence!! The same laws may apply in your State as DUI's!!
2) Street Legal Scooters are required to follow the same Motor Vehicle as all other vehicles
3) Obtain the proper license as required by your State
4) Obtain the proper insurance as required by your State
5) Scooters and Electric Bicycles shall follow local bicycle laws.
The laws that govern the operation of electric scooters and bikes vary from state to state. In addition, the enforcement of these laws may vary from city to city. Before selecting an electric scooter for purchase, we recommend contacting your local law enforcement agency or DMV to obtain the most up to date and accurate information for your area.
Kids zipping around neighborhoods on popular gas- and electric-powered scooters are quickly learning that they may be breaking the law with their joy rides.
The scooters - which look like long skateboards with handlebars, a motor, and sometimes a seat - can be purchased at local businesses, including Target and Sportmart.
But, the machines cannot be legally operated on city streets, sidewalks or bike paths, according to city of Urbandale and state laws. That is disappointing news to Urbandale children and their parents, who have shelled out from $200 to $500 on the assumption that if the scooters are legal to sell, they must be legal to ride.
Urbandale police have not begun to issue citations and hope to educate residents about the scooters so they don't have to write tickets.
"We"re trying to get the word out, counsel people (about the law), and use a lot of discretion during the time everyone gets educated about it," said Sgt. Dave Disney of the Urbandale Police Department.
The Iowa Department of Transportation's Web site said that most scooters "do not meet the requirements under state law for vehicle registration and licensing."
Under Iowa law, motorized vehicles must be able to maintain a minimum speed of 20 miles per hour up a 3 percent grade and be equipped with standard headlights and taillights in order to legally operate on streets. Motorized vehicles are also prohibited on most bike and walking trails.
Urbandale Target Manager Steve Howell said he was unaware that the scooters sold at Target were illegal to ride on streets and sidewalks and hadn"t received any complaints from parents. "To my knowledge we haven"t had any returns yet," he said.Soon, Target stores will display signs warning shoppers that scooters do not beong on the streets. The signs will read, "This electric scooter does not conform to federal vehicle safety standards and is not intended for operation on streets, roads or highways."
Aimee Sands, a Target headquarters spokeswoman, said signs will be posted in stores by the end of September in the aisles where scooters are displayed. "The signs will also direct guests to check local and state laws regarding motorized vehicles," she said.
Disney said it is a shame that some residents were not informed when they purchased the scooters.
"People weren"t aware of what they were buying," he said. "It"s my understanding that some of the boxes these scooters come in even say that you can ride them on the street."
Urbandale police are trying to get the word out after several residents complained that they were nearly struck by speeding scooters while walking on city sidewalks or bike paths.
Officers are warning youths that the scooters are unsafe and riding them anywhere other than in a driveway or other private property can mean a ticket. In Urbandale, even for a child, that could include a fine of up to $100 plus court fees for violating a city ordinance.
"We aren"t looking to write kids tickets," Disney said, "We felt we needed to respond to a public safety issue. We"ve tried to be very reasonable with this."
Scooter riders, much like bicyclists, are required to follow motor vehicle laws.
They also are governed by relatively new motor vehicle laws, and not many scooter owners are familiar with the legal way to operate them, Salem police Officer Tony Moore said.
The devices - think Razor-type scooters with an electric or gas motor attached - are increasingly popular, Salem shop owners said. Spring is on its way, and Salem police think that with it will come hordes of scooters zipping through the city streets.
"They were just specialty items, and now they're becoming more commonplace," Moore said. "We expect to see them on roadways, and we want to increase traffic safety."
People must be older than 15 to operate a scooter, Moore said, and they cannot operate them at more than 15 mph.
Riders of all ages are required to wear helmets and use hand signals like those of a bicycle, he said.
The scooters can be operated on a street with a posted speed of less than 25 mph, but riders must keep to the far right-hand side of the road, he said. In a one-way street, riders also can keep to the far left hand side.
On faster streets, scooters must stay in a designated bicycle lane, Moore said.
The scooters cannot be operated on a sidewalk unless they are operated at walking speeds and riders have an audible signal such as a bell or horn to warn pedestrians.
Scooter drivers are not required to have a driver's license, Moore said, and don't have to carry liability insurance.
The scooters sold by Jeff Johnson, owner of Batteries Northwest, will go 7 to 12 miles on a charge, with speeds anywhere from 6 to 9 mph.
Johnson said that he urges customers to be safe.
"We provide them with a little information packet that talks with them about safety," he said
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