STANWOOD — Thirteen-year-old Michael Meader sparked the ignition, revved his engine, looked both ways and then pulled into West Stanwood’s downtown traffic.
"They said don’t ride on the sidewalk," Meader said after a trip around the block. "You ain’t supposed to ride on the sidewalk. I try to remember, but I forget sometimes."
Don’t call the cops. He’s legit. For the moment.
A new state law passed this summer granted Meader’s preferred mode of transportation, motorized foot scooters, a legal status similar to bicycles.
That means no age limit for scooter drivers, no license required and no plates. As far as the state is concerned, the scooters can even be ridden on sidewalks, and helmets are not required.
City and county governments can make those rules stricter, and this month, Lake Stevens and Stanwood made perhaps the first local moves to do so.
Lake Stevens passed an amendment to an ordinance in a special meeting Monday to require scooter drivers to wear helmets in accordance with city rules for bicyclists, skateboarders and skaters. The amendment also requires those younger than 18 to wear reflective safety gear at night. The new state law requires scooters to have reflectors if they’re driven at night, just like a bike.
City officials wanted to ensure that motorized scooters were included in the law because of public safety concerns, Lake Stevens Police Chief Randy Celori said. Police encourage riders to wear bicycle helmets rather than just universal helmets often worn by skateboarders and skaters.
In Stanwood, helmet rules have historically not mustered enough political support to pass. But the city has drafted a series of other tighter restrictions for motorized foot scooters. If the new ordinance passes in January, scooter drivers in town must be at least 14, stay off the sidewalks and stay on roads with speed limits of no more than 25 mph or risk losing the scooter.
At first glance, seeing the phrase "motorized foot scooters" on the city agenda might seem whimsical.
But for Stanwood Police Chief Tom Davis, it’s a deadly serious issue.
"To me, it’s a tragedy waiting to happen," Davis said. "You’re going to read about it. Somewhere in the state, some kid gets creamed by a vehicle. And when that happens — not if — I want to know that my city has done everything it can to prevent it from happening."
Aaron James wants to prevent such a tragedy, too, although he comes at the issue from a different perspective. James owns Glass Tech, a Stanwood window business two blocks from City Hall. As a side business, he sells motorized foot scooters, also called powerboards. Prices start at $250 but go up to $500 or more.
James grabbed one of his powerboards and scooted over to Meader across the street to give him a stern talking-to after seeing him stray onto the sidewalk.
"If you go cruising by one of these businesses and run over somebody coming out the front door, the business owner could be held liable," James told Meader.
After Meader left, James said he shares the police chief’s safety concerns. He also worries about the reputation of powerboards among police. While it’s legal to ride on the sidewalk in Stanwood, James already is telling riders to follow the proposed rules.
"I don’t want to see them come down on all of us because of one or two people," James said.
Before the new state law was passed, powerboard dealers and law enforcement agencies had different interpretations about whether the scooters were street legal.
In 2000, the State Patrol decided the scooters were not street legal and could only be driven on private property.
But powerboard manufacturers and dealers disagreed. They said scooters do not have big enough engines to fit state criteria for licensing and therefore should be treated more like bicycles.
James and Davis’ police force played out that statewide debate in Stanwood for a while, with a fair amount of tension.
"It was difficult," Davis said. "He felt that we were picking on kids operating them and on him. And I felt that their responses to our officers were inappropriate."
But after the state law was passed, Davis met with James to discuss how to draft a local ordinance that would satisfy them both.
"I was very pleased with our meeting," Davis said.
James said he likes most of the new rules, although he hopes officers will use appropriate discretion in enforcing them.
Davis said he is deliberately trying to create a model ordinance with the city’s attorney because he expects other cities will be dealing with the issue.
"I certainly have had discussions with other police chiefs in the county," Davis said.
The thought of a 9-year-old mixing with traffic at 20 mph bothers him.
"I would not be surprised if in the future there was a push to have portions of (the state bill) repealed, but in the absence of that, we have to do something," Davis said.
Reporter Scott Morris: 425-339-3292 or smorris@heraldnet.com. Reporters Cathy Logg and Jim Haley contributed to this article.
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