Respect the road, even when riding a scooter

By Megan Messerly

Monday, Oct. 5, 2015 | 2 a.m.

It was sunset on a Saturday in March, and David Wear, 46, was riding a 2000 Jonway moped west on Sahara Avenue. Wear had just crossed Lindell Road when his scooter veered into the left side of an RTC bus.

Wear was taken to UMC Trauma, where he battled life-threatening injuries for six days before dying March 13.

Moped wrecks have claimed the lives of eight people this year in Clark County, already exceeding last year’s total, and have sent at least 67 more to UMC. Experts say anecdotal evidence suggests an increasing number of scooters are on the road. Mopeds are much cheaper than cars — on the low end, they can cost between $500 and $1,000 — and can be a cost-effective transportation alternative in hard economic times.

But just how many mopeds are on the road is a question that remains unanswered.

“I’ve heard estimates from 4,000 up to 20,000,” said Peter Vander Aa, Nevada’s motorcycle safety program administrator. “It’s one of those things we have no clue about.”

The state soon will answer that question, once it carries out provisions of a bill that requires a one-time registration of all mopeds. The Nevada Legislature passed the bill in May, and registration is expected to begin sometime before Jan. 1, 2017.

Though mopeds will be required to bear a special license plate, the bill does not require owners to buy insurance or riders to wear helmets, unlike the laws in place for motorcycle operators.

But the severity of injuries suffered in a moped crash can be the same or worse than those sustained in a motorcycle crash, said Dr. Douglas Fraser, chief of UMC trauma surgery. One of the main reasons, Fraser said, is that many scooter operators don’t have driver’s licenses or lost their licenses because of a DUI.

In Nevada, you need at least a Class C driver’s license — the one required to drive a car — to operate a moped.

Are you riding a moped?

There is a fine line between mopeds and motorcycles in Nevada. What looks like a moped legally could be considered a low-powered motorcycle.

Answer the following questions to determine whether you own a moped or a motorcycle.

• Does it go more than 30 miles per hour on a flat surface?

• Does it produce more than 2 gross brake horsepower?

• Does it have an engine bigger than 50 cubic centimeters?

If you answered yes to any of the above, you are riding a low-powered motorcycle, not a moped.

Moped vs. motorcycle laws

Moped

• Helmet and headgear optional

• No insurance required

• Registration not required (A one-time registration will be required soon.)

• Must have a Class C driver’s license or higher

Motorcycle

• Helmet required (A face shield or goggles also are required if the motorcycle doesn’t have a windshield or screen.)

• Insurance required

• Registration required

• Must have a Class M driver’s license

Stolen mopeds

Nevada’s soon-to-be-enacted moped registration law is expected to help law enforcement return stolen mopeds to their owners. Metro Police have investigated 2,336 reports of stolen mopeds over the past three years. Not having a registration system makes it difficult for law enforcement to locate stolen scooters’ owners and verify their identity, Metro Police Officer Brian O’Callaghan said.

Moped safety

Though true mopeds can travel only up to 30 mph, in Nevada, they are allowed to drive on streets with faster speed limits — and, by extension, faster-moving, larger vehicles.

“If you imagine going to Aruba, 90 percent of the island is small vehicles, scooters and golf carts,” Fraser said. “But when you’re trying to navigate on Las Vegas roads against trucks and SUVs, the scooter is going to lose.”

Fraser said the most important piece of safety equipment for moped riders is a helmet with a face shield. The worst moped injuries that come through UMC involve riders who weren’t wearing helmets or didn’t have their helmets fastened, he said.

Fraser also recommends riders wear protective clothing and boots. He said he has seen patients who have been thrown from scooters onto 150-degree black pavement and suffered third-degree burns as they lay on the ground unconscious in tank tops and flip-flops.