(relevant paragraph in bold below…)
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/08/20/house_votes_tighter_curbs_on_minibikes/
House votes tighter curbs on minibikes
By David Abel and Elise Castelli, Globe Staff and Globe Correspondent | August 20, 2004
The Legislature took a major step yesterday toward cracking down on minimotorbikes, the 2-foot-high motorcycle imitations that have driven pedestrians and motorists from Boston to the suburbs crazy as they squeal through the streets and swerve between cars in snarled traffic.
The bill, which passed the House of Representatives yesterday, would require drivers of minimotorbikes and Segway scooters be at least 16 years old and have a valid driver’s license. They would also be required to follow the rules of the road, such as staying off sidewalks and bicycle paths, driving on the proper side of the street, and using turn signals.
Moreover, scooter operators would not be allowed to exceed 20 miles per hour or drive after dark.
''Every state legislator in this building has received call after call from concerned citizens awoken at midnight to what sounds like a lawn mower zooming the wrong way down the street, playing Russian roulette with oncoming traffic," said state Senator Jarrett T. Barrios, a Somerville Democrat who chairs the Joint Committee on Public Safety. ''Young people are using them in great number and with reckless abandon."
Since the Senate already has adopted the measure, the bill requires only some minor procedural action by both chambers and Governor Mitt Romney’s signature before it becomes law. With the Legislature now in informal session, however, one lawmaker could block its progress, although sponsors said they did not expect any opposition.
Local police chiefs, who strongly support state regulation of the popular vehicles, applauded the lawmakers’ action.
Waltham Police Chief Edward Drew said he has seen a dramatic rise in the number of minimotorbikes on local streets over the past few months.
''These things are basically creating havoc," Drew said. Their riders ''think they can go from street to sidewalk to street indiscriminately. It’s a tragedy waiting to happen."
Since 2000, nearly 85 percent of motorized scooter accidents have involved children under the age of 15, said Anna Waclawiczek, a legislative aide to Representative Robert F. Fennell, a Lynn Democrat who sponsored the bill.
''They just don’t have the experience and sense of the road when they’re scooting along at 25 miles per hour without a helmet," she said. ''We didn’t want to wait for something terrible to happen to file legislation. We’re trying to be proactive and put in guidelines so the roads are safe."
A spokeswoman for Romney declined to comment on the bill.
''We’ll be happy to review it," Shawn Feddeman said.
Officials in Boston, which last month imposed similar restrictions, said they have seen everyone from young teens to adults do too many dangerous things on minimotorbikes. ''Sometimes you have to legislate common sense," Councilor John Tobin said. ''I can’t imagine a street in the Commonwealth that these types of things would be safe on."
Not everyone supports the bill, however.
Robert Brown, 38, is an assistant manager of PepBoys in Dedham, an auto supply store that also sells the mini-motorbikes. He said that if the bill becomes law, some youngsters who now rely on them would have trouble simply getting around. Instead of exploring other neighborhoods, he said, they would be stuck close to home.
''There are two sides to everything," Brown said. ''There are some people out there that use them for transportation. That takes away any right they have to get around."
When told the bill applied to any ''two-wheeled device" that has handlebars and is powered by an electric- or gas-powered motor, he said: ''That means you have to register riding lawn mowers."
The Legislature also sent the governor a bill yesterday that would require anyone 16 or younger to wear a helmet while riding bikes, scooters, skateboards, or in-line skates. It would also require businesses that sell or rent such items to post signs informing customers of the new law.
''Every year scores of children and young teens are hurt in preventable accidents because they were not wearing a safety helmet," said state Representative Timothy J. Toomey Jr., a Cambridge Democrat who chairs the House Public Safety Committee. ''Without the proper equipment to protect themselves, our children are going to continue to sustain serious injury."
