A new ordinance regulating low-speed electric scooters in Monee sets some pretty strict rules for anybody riding on one.
Explaining the ordinance before board approval, Village Attorney Larry Gryczewski noted that “There’s been a lot of media attention with respect to this issue, and the State of Illinois passed a law regarding the same issue.
“Basically, a low-speed scooter is something that does not exceed 35 miles an hour. They are not operated on state highways.
“They can go on sidewalks, trails, bicycle paths, and other paths within the village, except for signage.
“They also have to have a lot of safety equipment with respect to lamps in the back, lights in the front. The person cannot use a cell phone during the operation.
“It can only carry one person at a time.
“Also, they have a certain age requirement and if you are under 18, you must wear a helmet.
“All scooters must be well maintained and in good operating condition. We also said when two or more people are riding together in a group, they shall ride in a single file to give more of a safety factor.
“This is pretty much in accordance with the state of Illinois and IML. We added a few things with the help of Trustee (Scott) Youdris and Chief (Scott) Koerner on behalf of the village. This may be amended in the future with respect to other remedies the village would have in the event of a violation.”
During discussion, Trustee Chuck Rakus asked, “Are these scooters or bicycles? I I don’t really know how you would categorize them because a lot of them, there’s bicycles that are electric and they go pretty fast. So, are these vehicles going to need to be (license) plated?”
Gryczewski emphasized that the ordinance is only for low-speed e-scooters.
“These are two different vehicles,” he said. So, that’s where it’s not including the bikes yet, shall we say? It’s anything under 35 miles an hour.
“So, just so you know, Trusty Rakus, there actually are different classes of scooters and of e-bikes, and their top speed is what kind of classifies them.
“What this ordinance is really gearing more towards is ones that go up to like a 28 to 35 mph range.”
Gryczewski pointed out that some e-scooters can travel 60 or 70 miles per hour.
“They’re changing the law for those where they’re going to have a license plate and carry insurance just like a regular motor vehicle,” he said.
“That’s not what this is geared towards.This is the slower ones, the ones that we see right now out on our streets that are going around. So that’s what this is designed to kind of help the police department actually have some tools to work with the residents to make sure that, God forbid, we ever have an accident, you know, in town, we’re trying to prevent that.”
Trustee Scott Youdris said the issue of e-scooters “is pretty much governed by the Illinois Municipal League, too. They drafted a portion of this ordinance. They put a lot of time into it and other villages are adopting the same type of restrictions.
“We looked at many towns,” he added.
“I had probably about eight or nine towns in front of me of their scooter ordinances. Everything from ‘you could ride wherever you want’ to other towns’ ‘you could ride on your driveway’ and that was it. Everything else was strictly prohibited. So, we were trying to make a good balance to be able to let people enjoy the scooters, but at the same time make our town safe.”
The new ordinance stipulates that riders must be 16 years old or older and must wear a helmet. Any person violating provisions of the ordinance “shall be guilty of a petty misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not less than $75 and not more than $750.”
But Gryczewski conceded that there is no system in place yet for collecting a fine. The parents of the rider would not be held responsible for the child’s violation, at least not at this time.
“Anybody under the age of 18, I mean, we are talking–myself, the chief, and Trustee Youdris–about another remedy that we’ll have available in case this does happen. But right now, the parents won’t be responsible.
“You know, it’s probably similar to driving a car. I mean, if the title’s in a child’s name and they have an accident, the parents aren’t responsible.
“In this case, it looks like it’s a black hole right there in that spot,” he said. “I understand. We’re going to address it.”