| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to motorized scooters; amending s. |
| 3 | 316.2065, F.S.; providing motorized scooter operating |
| 4 | regulations; prohibiting the carrying of passengers on a |
| 5 | motorized scooter; requiring lamps and reflectors on such |
| 6 | scooters operated at night; requiring helmets on certain |
| 7 | riders; providing that failure of a person to wear the |
| 8 | required helmet may not be considered evidence of |
| 9 | negligence or contributory negligence; providing for |
| 10 | issuance of warnings, safety brochures, and citations for |
| 11 | violations; prohibiting operation of a motorized scooter |
| 12 | upon or along a sidewalk; prohibiting operation of a |
| 13 | motorized scooter upon any roadway except while crossing a |
| 14 | street on a crosswalk; providing an exception when a |
| 15 | street is designated a play street; requiring brakes; |
| 16 | providing restrictions for rent or lease of motorized |
| 17 | scooters; providing penalties for violations; providing |
| 18 | that a county or municipality may authorize operation of |
| 19 | motorized scooters on roadways or sidewalks; providing an |
| 20 | effective date. |
| 21 |
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| 22 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 23 |
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| 24 | Section 1. Section 316.2065, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 25 | to read: |
| 26 | 316.2065 Bicycle and motorized scooter regulations.-- |
| 27 | (1) Every person propelling a vehicle by human power or |
| 28 | operating a motorized scooter as defined in s. 316.003 has all |
| 29 | of the rights and all of the duties applicable to the driver of |
| 30 | any other vehicle under this chapter, except as to special |
| 31 | regulations in this chapter, and except as to provisions of this |
| 32 | chapter which by their nature can have no application. |
| 33 | (2) A person operating a bicycle may not ride other than |
| 34 | upon or astride a permanent and regular seat attached thereto. |
| 35 | (3)(a) A bicycle may not be used to carry more persons at |
| 36 | one time than the number for which it is designed or equipped, |
| 37 | except that an adult rider may carry a child securely attached |
| 38 | to his or her person in a backpack or sling. |
| 39 | (b) Except as provided in paragraph (a), a bicycle rider |
| 40 | must carry any passenger who is a child under 4 years of age, or |
| 41 | who weighs 40 pounds or less, in a seat or carrier that is |
| 42 | designed to carry a child of that age or size and that secures |
| 43 | and protects the child from the moving parts of the bicycle. |
| 44 | (c) A bicycle rider may not allow a passenger to remain in |
| 45 | a child seat or carrier on a bicycle when the rider is not in |
| 46 | immediate control of the bicycle. |
| 47 | (d) A bicycle rider or passenger or a motorized scooter |
| 48 | rider who is under 16 years of age must wear a bicycle or |
| 49 | motorized scooter helmet that is properly fitted and is fastened |
| 50 | securely upon the rider's or passenger's head by a strap, and |
| 51 | that meets the standards of the American National Standards |
| 52 | Institute (ANSI Z 90.4 Bicycle Helmet Standards), the standards |
| 53 | of the Snell Memorial Foundation (1984 Standard for Protective |
| 54 | Headgear for Use in Bicycling), or any other nationally |
| 55 | recognized standards for bicycle or motorized scooter helmets |
| 56 | adopted by the department. As used in this subsection, the term |
| 57 | "passenger" includes a child who is riding in a trailer or |
| 58 | semitrailer attached to a bicycle. |
| 59 | (e) Law enforcement officers and school crossing guards |
| 60 | may issue a bicycle or motorized scooter safety brochure and a |
| 61 | verbal warning to a bicycle rider or passenger or a motorized |
| 62 | scooter rider who violates this subsection. A bicycle rider or |
| 63 | passenger or a motorized scooter rider who violates this |
| 64 | subsection may be issued a citation by a law enforcement officer |
| 65 | and assessed a fine for a pedestrian violation, as provided in |
| 66 | s. 318.18. The court shall dismiss the charge against a bicycle |
| 67 | rider or passenger or a motorized scooter rider for a first |
| 68 | violation of paragraph (d) upon proof of purchase of a bicycle |
| 69 | or motorized scooter helmet that complies with this subsection. |
| 70 | (f) A person operating a motorized scooter may not carry |
| 71 | passengers. |
| 72 | (4) No person riding upon any bicycle, coaster, roller |
| 73 | skates, sled, motorized scooter, or toy vehicle may attach the |
| 74 | same or himself or herself to any vehicle upon a roadway. This |
| 75 | subsection does not prohibit attaching a bicycle trailer or |
| 76 | bicycle semitrailer to a bicycle if that trailer or semitrailer |
| 77 | is commercially available and has been designed for such |
| 78 | attachment. |
| 79 | (5)(a) Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at |
| 80 | less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and |
| 81 | under the conditions then existing shall ride as close as |
| 82 | practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway except |
| 83 | under any of the following situations: |
| 84 | 1. When overtaking and passing another bicycle or vehicle |
| 85 | proceeding in the same direction. |
| 86 | 2. When preparing for a left turn at an intersection or |
| 87 | into a private road or driveway. |
| 88 | 3. When reasonably necessary to avoid any condition, |
| 89 | including, but not limited to, a fixed or moving object, parked |
| 90 | or moving vehicle, bicycle, pedestrian, animal, surface hazard, |
| 91 | or substandard-width lane, that makes it unsafe to continue |
| 92 | along the right-hand curb or edge. For the purposes of this |
| 93 | subsection, a "substandard-width lane" is a lane that is too |
| 94 | narrow for a bicycle and another vehicle to travel safely side |
| 95 | by side within the lane. |
| 96 | (b) Any person operating a bicycle upon a one-way highway |
| 97 | with two or more marked traffic lanes may ride as near the left- |
| 98 | hand curb or edge of such roadway as practicable. |
| 99 | (6) Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway may not ride |
| 100 | more than two abreast except on paths or parts of roadways set |
| 101 | aside for the exclusive use of bicycles. Persons riding two |
| 102 | abreast may not impede traffic when traveling at less than the |
| 103 | normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the |
| 104 | conditions then existing and shall ride within a single lane. |
| 105 | (7) Any person operating a bicycle or motorized scooter |
| 106 | shall keep at least one hand upon the handlebars. |
| 107 | (8) Every bicycle or motorized scooter in use between |
| 108 | sunset and sunrise shall be equipped with a lamp on the front |
| 109 | exhibiting a white light visible from a distance of at least 500 |
| 110 | feet to the front and a lamp and reflector on the rear each |
| 111 | exhibiting a red light visible from a distance of 600 feet to |
| 112 | the rear. A bicycle, motorized scooter, or their riders its |
| 113 | rider may be equipped with lights or reflectors in addition to |
| 114 | those required by this section. |
| 115 | (9) No parent of any minor child and no guardian of any |
| 116 | minor ward may authorize or knowingly permit any such minor |
| 117 | child or ward to violate any of the provisions of this section. |
| 118 | (10) A person propelling a vehicle by human power upon and |
| 119 | along a sidewalk, or across a roadway upon and along a |
| 120 | crosswalk, has all the rights and duties applicable to a |
| 121 | pedestrian under the same circumstances. |
| 122 | (11)(a) A person propelling a bicycle upon and along a |
| 123 | sidewalk, or across a roadway upon and along a crosswalk, shall |
| 124 | yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian and shall give an |
| 125 | audible signal before overtaking and passing such pedestrian. |
| 126 | (b) A motorized scooter may not be operated upon or along |
| 127 | a sidewalk. |
| 128 | (12) No person upon roller skates, or riding in or by |
| 129 | means of any motorized scooter, coaster, toy vehicle, or similar |
| 130 | device, may go upon any roadway except while crossing a street |
| 131 | on a crosswalk; and, when so crossing, such person shall be |
| 132 | granted all rights and shall be subject to all of the duties |
| 133 | applicable to pedestrians. |
| 134 | (13) This section shall not apply upon any street while |
| 135 | set aside as a play street authorized herein or as designated by |
| 136 | state, county, or municipal authority. |
| 137 | (14) Every bicycle or motorized scooter shall be equipped |
| 138 | with a brake or brakes which will enable its rider to stop the |
| 139 | bicycle or motorized scooter within 25 feet from a speed of 10 |
| 140 | miles per hour on dry, level, clean pavement. |
| 141 | (15) A person engaged in the business of selling bicycles |
| 142 | at retail shall not sell any bicycle unless the bicycle has an |
| 143 | identifying number permanently stamped or cast on its frame. |
| 144 | (16)(a) A person may not knowingly rent or lease any |
| 145 | bicycle or motorized scooter to be ridden by a child who is |
| 146 | under the age of 16 years unless: |
| 147 | 1. The child possesses a bicycle or motorized scooter |
| 148 | helmet; or |
| 149 | 2. The lessor provides a bicycle or motorized scooter |
| 150 | helmet for the child to wear. |
| 151 | (b) A violation of this subsection is a nonmoving |
| 152 | violation, punishable as provided in s. 318.18. |
| 153 | (17) The court may waive, reduce, or suspend payment of |
| 154 | any fine imposed under subsection (3) or subsection (16) and may |
| 155 | impose any other conditions on the waiver, reduction, or |
| 156 | suspension. If the court finds that a person does not have |
| 157 | sufficient funds to pay the fine, the court may require the |
| 158 | performance of a specified number of hours of community service |
| 159 | or attendance at a safety seminar. |
| 160 | (18) Notwithstanding s. 318.21, all proceeds collected |
| 161 | pursuant to s. 318.18 for violations under paragraphs (3)(e) and |
| 162 | (16)(b) shall be deposited into the State Transportation Trust |
| 163 | Fund. |
| 164 | (19) The failure of a person to wear a required bicycle |
| 165 | helmet or the failure of a parent or guardian to prevent a child |
| 166 | from riding a bicycle or motorized scooter without a required |
| 167 | bicycle helmet may not be considered evidence of negligence or |
| 168 | contributory negligence. |
| 169 | (20) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a |
| 170 | violation of this section is a noncriminal traffic infraction, |
| 171 | punishable as a pedestrian violation as provided in chapter 318. |
| 172 | A law enforcement officer may issue traffic citations for a |
| 173 | violation of subsection (3) or subsection (16) only if the |
| 174 | violation occurs on a bicycle path or road, as defined in s. |
| 175 | 334.03. However, they may not issue citations to persons on |
| 176 | private property, except any part thereof which is open to the |
| 177 | use of the public for purposes of vehicular traffic. |
| 178 | (21) A county or municipality may adopt an ordinance that |
| 179 | authorizes a person to operate a motorized scooter on a roadway |
| 180 | or sidewalk, notwithstanding any prohibitions in this section. |
| 181 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004. |