New laws approved by the California Legislature in 2018 will affect roadway safety in several ways, including helmet use on bicycles and motorized scooters, hit-and-run on bicycle paths, modified exhaust systems, and enhanced safety for refuse collection vehicles. To support its mission of providing the highest levels of safety, service, and security, the California Highway…
As the new year approaches, so do new laws that will affect the lives of Californians. Here’s a sampling of legislation signed in 2018 by Gov. Jerry Brown (laws not taking effect Jan. 1 are noted): Doctor Disclosures—SB 1448 (Hill): When doctors in California are placed on probation for things such as ethical violations, substance…
Currently, Big Scooter means BIRD. LIME and SPIN, the “bad actors” identified by elements of the Board of Supervisors, the SFMTA, DPW, etc. So that’s the situation locally, but what’s going on in Sacramento? Look, Bird has sponsored its own Assembly Bill, AB-2989. It aims to do all the stuff in the headline above. So…
Dear Assemblymember Flora: On behalf of the City of Long Beach, I write to respectfully offer our opposition to Senate Bill 2989 (Flora). This bill proposes to allow two-wheeled stand up scooters that reach levels up to 20 miles per hour to lawfully ride on sidewalks by exempting them from the definition of motorized scooters….
Honorable Governor Brown: I respectfully request that you not sign Assembly Bill-2989 into law. It is precipitous to authorize legislation that nullifies helmet requirements, without further study on its public safety impacts to those who use electric scooters as well as other pedestrians and vehicles on our streets. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Councilmember…
AB-2989, the motorized scooter bill, is still making its way through the legislature. The good news is that it removes the silly helmet requirement. The bad news is that it retains speed limit prohibitions: The operator of a motorized scooter shall not operate a motorized scooter on a highway with a speed limit in excess…
The growing pains of shared electric scooter businesses have led one Southern California city to take a wait-and-see approach. The Ventura City Council voted 5-0 this week night to ban scooters after a company called Bird filed an application to bring them to the city. The Ventura County Star reported council members want to let…
A “motorized scooter” is any two-wheeled device that has handlebars, has a floorboard that is designed to be stood upon when riding, and is powered by an electric motor. This device may also have a driver seat that does not interfere with the ability of the rider to stand and ride and may also be…
Q: We have been reading for weeks about the new electric-scooter rentals in San Francisco and their problems. One afternoon last week during a half-hour walk downtown on Santa Clara Street, I encountered a dozen of those fast motorized scooters charging down the sidewalk dodging pedestrians. Maybe San Jose should get a handle on this…
San Francisco officials have been promising rules to curb the invasion of electric scooters, and now we have an idea of what those rules could be. The Municipal Transportation Agency has proposed a two-year permitting test program that would limit the city to five e-scooter permits, and no more than 500 scooters for each permit….