Here's a follow-up to the scoter post.  While lobbying in state
legislatures, including in my own state, has resulted in changes to state
laws allowing scooters, this does not mean that people cannot take action
on the local level to ensure safety in their communities.  Below is an
article on how several Chicago suburbs are tackling this issue.  If you
are having problems, consider a meeting with your alderman to discuss
concerns.  They are likely not aware of our unique problems that we face
with these devices.

Kelly



Chicago Tribune

Scooters called a scourge --------------------

Hoffman Estates latest to mull ban on motor vehicle

By Tom McCann
Tribune staff reporter

June 28, 2002

After two near accidents this month with children on motorized scooters,
Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod wants his community to become the
latest in a growing list of suburbs to ban them from streets and
sidewalks.

"These things have gas engines. They can go 30 m.p.h., and you have
little kids driving them. It's a recipe for disaster," said McLeod, who
said he almost hit a youngster on a scooter as he pulled into his
driveway.

"They can go wherever they want to ride them, just not here."

Riders are quickly running out of places where it's legal to use the gas
or electric-powered contraptions, which resemble skateboards with
handlebars. Neighbors complain about the engine noise, police about
dangerous driving.

Bloomingdale banned them this week, joining Itasca, Schaumburg, Des
Plaines, Roselle, Glen Ellyn and Worth. Other communities such as
Libertyville, Hinsdale and Elmhurst have effectively outlawed the
low-slung scooters by treating them like cars or trucks.

"They have an engine, so we consider them a motor vehicle and you can't
drive a motor vehicle on the sidewalk," Libertyville Police Chief Pat
Carey said.

"They can drive on the street, but only if they have license plates,
brake lights, turning signals, rear-view mirrors, title and registration.
And since no scooter has that, they can't drive on the streets either. So
they're pretty much banned."

New York has passed statewide legislation to make them illegal.

That attitude frustrates scooter fans who consider the vehicles harmless
fun. Although they're faster than foot-powered scooters, they aren't to
be confused with motor scooters, such as Vespas, or mopeds, which are
essentially small motorbikes.

"I drive responsibly. I don't hurt anyone," said Eddie Sproviero, 14, who
has ridden his scooter for four years in Buffalo Grove, which doesn't
restrict their use, and considers it safer and more fun than a bike.

"Sure there are people who drive them recklessly, but there are just as
many people who go nuts with bikes. It's just stupid to outlaw them
altogether."

The laws also anger scooter companies that have struggled to make
scooters an accepted form of transportation.

Tim Patmont is assistant vice president of Patmont Motor Werks in
California, the nation's largest producer of motorized scooters. He said
it was ironic the anti-scooter laws were being passed when state
legislatures were paving the way for the new Segway Human Transporter.

The electric-powered Segways, which cost at least $3,000 but aren't
available to the public, resemble scooters and can go about 8 m.p.h. The
U.S. Postal Service is helping test them and has bought some. The
Illinois House recently approved a bill that allows the use of Segways on
sidewalks.

"I think we're in the same niche as the Segway, and eventually it's going
to make people realize that these bans are silly," said Patmont, whose
company ships out 200 to 300 Go-Peds a day.

Despite the new restrictions, scooters are selling better than ever,
local dealers say. Costing anywhere from $500 to $1,900, they're popular
with children, teenagers or adults looking for an environmentally
friendly way to get to work.

Faced with mounting legal obstacles, scooter fans can either ride them on
their own property or take them to Chicago, where they're allowed.

The Hoffman Estates Village Board is scheduled to consider the ban Monday
night. The board banned the scooters in February but agreed to allow them
on sidewalks after receiving letters from people such as Glenn Wellman.

Wellman, the grounds supervisor for Schaumburg School District 54,
commuted to work every day last summer on his homemade electric scooter,
specially built for his 270-pound frame. He stopped when he learned that
Schaumburg had outlawed them.

Now he rides only occasionally around his Hoffman Estates home but fears
that fun will end soon.

"I think it's absolutely ridiculous. I thought I was doing all the right
things by leaving my car at home and cutting down on pollution," Wellman
said. "I thought they had come to their senses."

McLeod said the issue resurfaced because residents have filed more
complaints and police have noticed dangerous driving. Besides the
near-accident on his driveway, McLeod said a child on a scooter almost
plowed into him and his wife on the sidewalk.

So far this summer, police have issued 25 $20 citations. In Hinsdale the
fine is $500 and a mandatory court appearance.

Mitch Fields, the owner of Arlington Motorsports in Arlington Heights,
said the negative publicity has made customers wary, but he still sells
about half a dozen scooters a week.

"I really don't understand what all the fuss is about," Fields said. "All
I know is when summertime comes and politicians have nothing to do, they
always go after these scooters."


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