As home of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville is also home to plenty of two-wheeled Hogs.
No, not Hawgs, as in Harley-Davidson motorcycles. These are UA students with a fondness for scooters. In this college town and others, the price of gasoline and costs of car ownership have combined to make them a popular alternative for transportation. Look around campus and it's easy to recognize how scooters have become an integral part of college life. That, in turn, makes them an integral part of Fayetteville life.
What’s The Point?
It seems fair to question whether operators of scooters should be required to carry liability insurance, but state law would be a better option than a municipal ordinance.
But with any moving vehicle, from bicycles to 18-wheelers, comes risk. The plethora of scooters zipping along public streets in Fayetteville has drawn attention to what at least on alderman sees as a problem -- a lack of liability insurance on the vehicles.
Scooter drivers do not have to be licensed or insured, under state law. Alan Long, Ward 4 alderman, would require drivers of "motorized bicycles" to carry liability insurance. Motorized bicycles are defined as "bicycles with an automatic transmission and a gasoline-powered motor which doesn't displace in excess of 50 cubic centimeters (50 cc)."
Long told the City Council he wants to protect other motorists and pedestrians. If involved in an accident, they're likely to have little recourse against a scooter driver. They can file a claim on their own insurance or they can go through the legal hassle of a small claim in court.
"If a moped were to pull out in front of a family of four driving a large vehicle, that vehicle could go into the ditch. It could hit another car going into oncoming traffic," Long said. "It could create a situation ... where there's a tremendous financial strain on a person."
The ommission of an insurance requirement for vehicles traveling on public streets doesn't seem fair. The state requires most vehicles to carry at least liability coverage, but had to draw a line someplace. Long's proposal is for Fayetteville to go beyond the state's requirements, prompting concerns from other aldermen about scooter drivers in Fayetteville being treated differently than ones in Springdale or Little Rock or other places.
Ironically, alderman Sarah Marsh and Mark Kinion said the issue would be better handled at the state level. Why ironic? Both voted for a far more controversial measure -- Fayetteville's now-rejected civil rights ordinance -- while dismissing arguments its goals should be addressed instead in a state law rather than a local ordinance. So scooters are just too hot an issue? Perhaps there are more than a few scooter owners in their wards.
In principle, if the owners of other motor vehicles must carry insurance coverage, it makes sense to require the same of these smaller vehicles. It's fairly inexpensive and places a higher level of responsibility on the operators of scooters running up and down public streets.
It is fair, also, to question whether municipal law is where this approach should be enshrined. We do not need city councils creating a hodge-podge of laws that treat Arkansas motorists differently based on whether they are driving in Fayetteville or Johnson or Springdale. Those scenarios are precisely where state legislation seems most appropriate.
Commentary on 12/27/2014