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Putting the Brakes on Scooters

A weed-whacker on wheels: That's how New Jersey Assemblyman Kenneth LeFevre describes the sound of the motorized scooters that have become popular with teens in his hometown of Brigantine Island.

A weed-whacker on wheels: That's how New Jersey Assemblyman Kenneth LeFevre describes the sound of the motorized scooters that have become popular with teens in his hometown of Brigantine Island.

Police officers there have been stymied over how to address the noise and traffic dangers the young "drivers" pose to themselves and others. "Because of their age, they don't understand the rules of the road. They blow through stop signs and red lights and weave through traffic," LeFevre says. "If they hit a crack in the sidewalk, these things can fly." So he introduced legislation banning the use of motorized scooters on public highways, sidewalks and public lands. (The even more ubiquitous foot-powered scooters are not an issue.)

Efforts to stop motorized scooters in their tracks are not limited to coastal New Jersey. Bans have been proposed in cities from North Reading, Massachusetts, to Bismarck, North Dakota, and beyond. Motorized scooters have been outlawed in Schaumburg, Illinois, and Windsor, Colorado, is ticketing people under a state law that prohibits "toy vehicles" on public streets and sidewalks.

LeFevre's bill had to be amended when concerns were raised that the wording might be interpreted to mean that motorized wheelchairs were not allowed on sidewalks. The Assembly has passed the revised bill and LeFevre hopes the Senate will do the same soon, before the warm weather sends kids back on the streets with vehicles that can hit 25 mph. "It's dangerous," he says. "They're unregulated, uninsured vehicles operated by unlicensed drivers."

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