City may put brakes on motorized scooters

SANDPOINT — The city may ban motorized scooters because they interfere with traffic and do not mix well with pedestrians on bike paths.

Also, motorized scooter drivers must have a license.

"They are very popular, but they are illegal on the streets and rights of way," said Mayor Ray Miller.

The Administrative Committee will consider forwarding an ordinance banning the vehicles to the full city Council at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall.

"They don't mix well with traffic," Miller said.

More and more cities are opting to prohibit the scooters, he added.

If a motorized scooter and a larger vehicle get into an accident, the operator of the scooter will likely be either seriously hurt or injured, said Ponderay Police Chief Mike Hutter, who has expressed concern about the operation of motorized scooters in Ponderay.

"It's just an accident waiting to happen," he said.

Hutter said most of the people he'd seen driving the scooters are around 10-13 years old, too young for a driver's license.

According to a memo to Police Chief Mark Lockwood from a Sandpoint detective, anyone under 15-years-old operating a motorized scooter can be cited for failure to purchase a driver's license and for operating an improperly registered and titled vehicle. Those older than 15 can be cited for operating an improperly registered and titled vehicle.

"The only place you can actually operate these things is on private property," said Miller.