New MA Scooter Law Takes Effect Aug 1

[nescoot]

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/07/21/scooter_law_revving_up_worry/

There are so many things wrong with this law. Scooters now have to take up entire (already impossible to find) urban street spaces? The registry expects to plate scooters that are < 50cc but can go over 30mph without actually having any way of testing if the scooter can go over that speed? Cambridge, the go-green capital of the greater Boston area is actually going to discourage the use of low powered vehicles?

The reason I park my scooter on the sidewalk is to get it out of the way of traffic that actually needs to be on the street. Without any preplanning for the parking situation, this law is going to hurt city car owners more than scooterists. Also, the soon to be rising MBTA fares, a sales tax increase instead of tolls/gas tax increases, and consistent failures of the public transportation system, all scream that the commonwealth wants you in a car or off their transportation grid.

Finally, last time I checked, you can't insure a < 50cc scooter in Massachusetts. If these idiots think I'm going to park mine on the street where I can't lock it up, they've got another thing coming.

[econofast]

Oh man, what a crappy start to the day- my birthday, no less!
I highly recommend that any massholes out there contact Gov. Patrick's office to voice your disappointment. Here's the contact form: http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=gov3utiliti ... contact_us

On a side note - the new definition of a "limited use vehicle" (an LUV?) is under 50cc, but above 30mph. Can we install a Met 2 restrictor plate onto a Met to get it back below the 30mph cutoff? For 7 mph, I'm not giving up sidewalk parking.

[tvon]

Very poorly thought out law. But at the same time, since 99% of police and other officials are clueless to scooter laws and what constitutes a scooter. I'm calling BS on this law.

Why would i put my scooter in a parking space so some guy can throw it in the gutter (or steal it) to make room for his SUV? I'm locking my scooter up, I don't care what the law says.

[nescoot]

...Here's the contact form: http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=gov3utiliti ... contact_us

Thank you for this link, econofast. I just sent a letter to the governor and will be calling this afternoon.

edit: Here's the text of my letter in case anyone's looking for a template:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/07/21/scooter_law_revving_up_worry/

I can't believe you're supporting this law! There has been ZERO planning on the part of the city of Boston, Cambridge, or anywhere else in the Commonwealth to account for the additional parking that will be required for scooters to not be on sidewalks. Scooterists don't park on sidewalks to be a nuisance, we park there to get out of the way of traffic that has to be on the street. We park there so we don't take up an entire meter space on Newbury Street and so that car drivers in Beacon Hill and other residential neighborhoods don't have to fight us for already impossible-to-find parking spaces.

Are you aware that <50cc scooters can not be insured in the Commonwealth? There is not a single insurance company willing to write for a <50cc scooter, and you expect us to park on the street without securing our vehicles to protect them from theft? Is the Commonwealth prepared to accept the number of plated vehicle theft reports that are going to result from this law as scooters are lifted from unsecured street parking spaces into pickup trucks?

Has the commonwealth decided it is no longer interested in efficient travel solutions that do not place a heavy burden on the transportation grid? Scooters are taking cars off our streets, saving fuel (most run at 90+ miles per gallon), and providing low cost transportation alternatives to an economically troubled society.

How can you possibly support this law? How can you possibly say to an economically damaged and struggling populace that the Commonwealth wants you in a car or they want you off their grid? Because that's what you're saying with this law, with the soon to arrive increases in MBTA fares, and with a sales tax increase instead of a gas tax increase.

I beg you to embrace scooters, cycling, walking, and other efficient transportation methods. Stop this horrible law.

[FLATOUT50]

Admins please be patient, here I go!

OK, IMHO Taxachusettes is running neck and neck with CT in a race to be the left wing, tax me to death state in the union.

Now that that's off my chest free of charge, I agree that motorscooters don't belong on the sidewalk. Especially ones that cruise at 40 mph all day long. Somebody inclined to steal it will do so no matter where it's parked.

**HOWEVER**

A registration tag used correctly (one time charge) would allow the insurance option if you choose, so theft or crashes can be covered at least through the loan period.

**Also I stand firm that all this applies to motorscooters with twist and go drivabliliy up to 149cc. They should be tax exempt, as there really is no added risk on a bike with such limited road access and they are energy conserving.**

March on city hall, spill some tea, get these taxocrats either serving you or get them fired.

Best,

FO50

[nescoot]

Admins please be patient, here I go!
... I agree that motorscooters don't belong on the sidewalk. Especially ones that cruise at 40 mph all day long. Somebody inclined to steal it will do so no matter where it's parked.

I have to disagree here. The reason scooters park on sidewalks in cities such as Boston is because the city has not been built to accomodate small two-wheeled vehicles, not because we're being inconsiderate (and I fail to see how cruising speed has an effect here. It's more about vehicle size). If Boston were set up for scooters, many of the small sidestreets would have scooter designated parking and the sidewalk issue would not exist in the first place.

What the city does have is parking garages, all of which would laugh if you drove a Honda Met up and asked to park. The city has robo-meter spaces that print out little slips of paper that you're supposed to put on your dashboard to avoid a ticket, something that really doesn't work at all on a scooter or other small, open, two wheeled machine. This is why the city has bicycle racks (which are on sidewalks), so that these machines can safely be placed in the city and not chew up infrastructure meant for larger vehicles. As it stands, this is as close to scooter parking as we have.

If there was an established system for parking scooters in the city: parking spaces, proper meters, tie-ups, insurance options, etc., then this law would be justified. But that is not the case. Until it is, the law is ridiculous. Imagine if the city told bicycles that they had to park in the street without providing parking solutions?

[duderiffic]

It sounds to me like you need to ask your respective cities for dedicated motorcycle spaces. Other than taxing the vehicle this law just seems like treating a scooter like a vehicle which personally I'm all for. (I guess I still don't understand the reason they should be tax exempt - you want all the same rights as a motorist- right?).

How does it go? Equal Rights not Special Rights! (or something like that?)

[nescoot]

It sounds to me like you need to ask your respective cities for dedicated motorcycle spaces. Other than taxing the vehicle this law just seems like treating a scooter like a vehicle which personally I'm all for. (I guess I still don't understand the reason they should be tax exempt - you want all the same rights as a motorist- right?).

How does it go? Equal Rights not Special Rights! (or something like that?)

I need to dig up the actual law, but if I recall, it also includes rules about scooters not being allowed on roadways with 45mph+ speed limits. We're not getting equal rights on this, and because most out-of-city roads, even empty ones, are 45mph+, they're essentially banning scooters outside the city limits, and then not giving us anywhere to park inside the city limits. Equal rights? Yes, we need those. Different regulations? Yes, we need those too! A scooter is not a car. It is smaller, less obtrusive, and can be parked safely in places where cars can not. I see this as an opportunity that the city should be embracing, not one that it should be rushing to preemptively over-regulate. We want to park on streets, we just want to do it safely and securely. They're missing that whole part.

I have no issue with the taxation (I'm a certified bleeding-heart liberal) and you're right to say that we need to demand more motorcycle spaces in the city. Frankly, I have no idea how motorcycle drivers survive in Boston, but my impression is that most simply don't, or are forced to ignore the parking laws.

The crux of the issue is they're putting the law in place without the infrastructure to support it. Imagine if the entire city was 18-wheeler parking only, maybe with one parking spot per block, but tons of wasted 'half-spaces' that cars historically would park in to stay out of the 18-wheeler's way, and then one day the city said cars had to park in the 18-wheeler spaces only. Now the 18-wheelers can't find anywhere to park, the cars are awkwardly placed into oversized spaces, dogs and cats start living together, and up is down!

..ok, I'm getting off topic now...

[FLATOUT50]

The crux of the issue is not enough Americans will embrace a scoot as viable transportation. The public en masse will never be mistaken for europeans in culture or practice. Don't see many Escalades or Navigators over there right?

On the topic, the more hurdles placed in the way of scooterists, the less scooterists you have. So make an incentive for able bodied people so inclined and they will come.

One such incentive is only the amount of regulation that empowers scooterists full rights to the road, within the limits of the machine. Another is minimal registration requirements that help a scooterist. A registered vehicle can be insured. Third - Tax exemption. These vehicles save a HUGE amount of fuel. There should be a reward for that.

Forth, raise the ceiling to 149cc. That market will grow. It takes no more skill to ride a twist 'n' go 149cc bike, and poses the same if not less risk with increased ability to merge in traffic, and better brakes that most these bikes have. It's NOT a motorcycle with a manual transmission and clutch, which requires a different skill set altogether.

Once crowded cities like Boston face an increased scooter population, they will be inclined to build legitimate parking places for the bikes. But that scooter crowd is less likely to emerge with ineffective legislation.

When gas hit almost $5 a gallon last year, the motorcycle and scooter population tripled at work. The company was forced to quadruple the size of the motorcycle parking area, or the bikes would be on the sidewalk.

And as far as parking garages go, you're paying the same price as an Escalade or Navigator to take up space there. Right? So just tell them to hang it where the sun don't shine.

If your legislators are out of touch, vote them out of office on election day. That's a great way of saying "You're Fired!"

That's my $0.02.

[metronid]

Though statistics aren’t available, such haphazard driving is far too common in Boston, Cambridge, Brookline, and Somerville, said scooter riders, police, and parking officials. “This change will ensure safety. That’s the bottom line,’’ Dufresne said.


The above statement has no valid reasoning.


--------The new law will not affect “legitimate’’ moped owners, she said. Massachusetts defines a moped as a two-wheeled vehicle with an engine capacity of 50 cubic centimeters or less whose maximum attainable speed is 30 miles per hour-----------------------------------------

After reading this group many times ,maybe both statements make sense.
--------------------------------------------

Much of the reading here is how to make a scooter go 40mph and greater.
I do not live in MA but my met2 will allow me to park on the sidewalk if I read correctly.

I purchased my scooter to be what many state laws say.

If I want one to go faster than I will go to a motorcycle or a larger scooter.

I do feel sorry for those in MA that will be hurt by the law.

I also understand that most moped/scooters are not within the legal framework of the law.

[FLATOUT50]

Though statistics aren’t available, such haphazard driving is far too common in Boston, Cambridge, Brookline, and Somerville, said scooter riders, police, and parking officials. “This change will ensure safety. That’s the bottom line,’’ Dufresne said.


The above statement has no valid reasoning.


--------The new law will not affect “legitimate’’ moped owners, she said. Massachusetts defines a moped as a two-wheeled vehicle with an engine capacity of 50 cubic centimeters or less whose maximum attainable speed is 30 miles per hour-----------------------------------------

After reading this group many times ,maybe both statements make sense.
--------------------------------------------

Much of the reading here is how to make a scooter go 40mph and greater.
I do not live in MA but my met2 will allow me to park on the sidewalk if I read correctly.

I purchased my scooter to be what many state laws say.

If I want one to go faster than I will go to a motorcycle or a larger scooter.

I do feel sorry for those in MA that will be hurt by the law.

I also understand that most moped/scooters are not within the legal framework of the law.

The law varies by state. A Honda Metropolitan only meets one facet of the "Moped" definition, a 49cc engine.
As produced, it is capable of 42 MPH and has all the DOT equipment should a state require full motorcycle endorsement. Power tuned it is capable of 42 MPH. It just gets there a whole lot quicker and will climb hills at a respectable rate.

My argument is one of economics. You cannot tax your way to prosperity. It's a simple premise that falls on deaf ears in both Mass and CT. I'm for growing the scooter market. It hasn't hurt europe at all, and made for a great export market.

[Tatster]

I'm very curious: for those of you that DO live in a state that requires your scooter to have a license plate - where do you park it? Do you park in a metered space? in a parking garage? What do you chain it to so that it can't be carried away? Do you have problems with cars knocking into them or knocking them over when they're in a space on the street? or worse - moving them so that THEY can park in the space?

I don't see how this can work without dedicated parking for SMALL, light 2-wheeled vehicles...

[tvon]

Please call the governor's office of constituent services at 617-725-4000 and say you are concerned.

Talking points:
1) It was hidden from us since January.
2) RMV doesn't know about it
3) Cities and Towns don't know aobut it
4) To stop scooters running red lights is not a valid concern, bicycles run red lights all the time, though that is illegal as well. Bicycle owners are not being forced to pay for insurance, registration, and yearly inspections.
5) This law is stifling alternative modes of transportation. These class of scooters get over 70 miles per gallon on average.

This law unfairly targets 50cc and smaller scooter owners, specifically. There are no public safety issues being solved by this.

[tvon]

please sign this petition!!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/176/peti ... otorcycles

[FLATOUT50]

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/07/21/scooter_law_revving_up_worry/
...the soon to be rising MBTA fares, a sales tax increase instead of tolls/gas tax increases, and consistent failures of the public transportation system, all scream that the commonwealth wants you in a car or off their transportation grid...

Note the relationship between "taxation" and the word "commonwealth". That word [commonwealth] scares the hell out of me.

Spill the tea, let 'em know who's in charge...