July 3, 2001
Motorized Scooters in Texas
by hornitos <hornitos@pfft.net>
I love outdoors activities, so I had a clever idea to get two electric scooters, one for my girlfriend and another for me. These scooters have a little electric motor of 160 watts which can't go any faster than 8 mph. but still they can provide a nice ride.
A day after spending $500 on the scooters, a friend of mine told me that I should call the Texas police dept and check if it is legal to ride these electric scooters in the parks or on sidewalks. To my surprise they told me that in Texas, an electric scooter is considered a motorized vehicle, and because of that I need a registration and safety inspection, but since it has been determined that they cannot pass a safety inspection they can't be registered. So now anyone using any kind of electric scooter will get a fine in Texas.
This is so PFFT!!!! Is it too much to ask for electrical-powered vehicle regulations??? Is it too hard to say if your scooter is greater than 200 watts then you are using a motorized vehicle, and if lower than 200 watts HERE ARE THE RULES!?!?!
This is so narrow minded, I guess I'm safer riding a bicycle at 25mph. PFFT!!!
Published: July 3, 2001
Editor: stacy