Mini-motor bikes a tiny outlaw in ML roads

City leaders, state agencies, residents, clash on use of motorized vehicles

There is something that 14-year-old Brent Meeks doesn't understand.

He does not own a car, he does not have a driver's license, and yet he has been stopped by police at least twice.

The reason? A small motorized bike he said he bought with his own money, saved through countless weekends of mowing lawns and allowances.

Brent loves his bike. However, the city of Moses Lake does not share the same outlook.

These bikes, miniature versions of a real motorcycle, are powered by a small engine, and have become increasingly popular among kids Brent's age, and equally unpopular among neighbors of these kids, making it necessary for authorities to draw the line somewhere as to whether they can be used in cities and by whom. This has proven tricky on both counts.

Mike Louisell, public information officer for the Department of Licensing in Olympia, said that with the market share of these mini bikes growing, cities have started wondering if they must create their own regulation or wait for statewide guidelines.

The DOL, Louisell said, has no specific statewide regulation on these types of vehicles, as opposed to their guidelines on the use of mopeds and motorcycles, which he said are better established.

The reason for this, he said, is that this product is relatively new, hence agencies are still working on what would be considered adequate regulations.

Jim Whitaker, city attorney for Moses Lake disagreed, saying that the DOL as an agency can say that this is a new product all they want, but it is still their responsibility to apply a statutory definition.

The position of the city of Moses Lake, city manager Joe Gavinski said, is that after discussing it with Whitaker and Moses Lake Police assistant chief Dean Mitchell, motor-driven cycles need to be operated by a licensed driver if they are used. However, these mini bikes are not licensable as motor-driven cycles, given their small size.

"You can operate a motor scooter on city streets, and you can operate those in sidewalks," he said. "These mini bikes are being operated on city streets by unlicensed drivers. They are a danger for motorists and operators who are properly using the streets."

Adding to the problem is the lack of clarity regarding who can or cannot use these mini bikes, where they can be used, and who can receive a license, if these exist at all.

Deane Meeks, Brent's mom, said that nowhere on the bike her son bought does it say these are not apt for street use. She added that she would not let her son venture very far on such a vehicle, and that no one told her that these mini bikes could not be licensed.

Gavinski said that he had gone to one of the places where these miniature vehicles are sold and retailers there had advised them that those bikes are not intended for public streets and sidewalks.

Regulation indicating use of a moped or a motor-driven cycle (not the same as a motorcycle) states that a driver must be at least 16 to be licensed. Hence, Brent Meeks has been stopped by MLPD officers and warned not to use the vehicle.

The regulations, though not directly applying to Brent's type of vehicle, do not stop there.

Whitaker said, in order to be licensed, these vehicles needs to have a brake light with a minimum height of 26 inches, and twinkling headlights of a minimum height of eight inches.

They can't be licensed as mopeds, either, because their wheels are not wide enough, and because they don't go fast enough (20 mph). Whitaker added that these types of vehicles have been known to fail noise tests.

All these demerits create a Catch-22 for the owners and dealers of these bikes. There are no specific requirements for a license to operate them, but given that they do not fit any of the criteria above, and others, they cannot be licensed under any description.

In other words, right now, you don't have to have a license to use them. But if you use them, you need a license, which you can't get because these vehicles can't be licensed.

Second, owners and dealers are asking the question of why are these mini bikes being sold, if they can't be licensed to begin with, and if they seem to be so inappropriate for use.

There is no foolproof answer, but there is one most common answer: Because people are buying them.

"They (bikes) have had good acceptance by the public," said Marco Partida, manager of Perico Tools, the business that sold Brent his bike. "You explain to them that they require licenses, but people accept them as an alternative to transportation."

Partida repeated Meeks' statement about nothing on the bikes saying they were not apt for street use.

Whitaker said that the existence of a demand for them is the main reason why these vehicles are being sold, although they cannot be used in the city given their dimensions.

"People think 'isn't that cute?' Whitaker said. "They don't stop to think that this is actually a motor vehicle."

Mitchell said that their small size makes them even more of a danger, not just to the drivers but to the traffic around them.

Still, many insist that in the appropriate situation, these vehicles can be used without the need for a license.

"They can be used on (people's) own property if you live in the country," Whitaker said. "If you lived in town, I have no clue where you would ride them."

Which leaves most everybody in a quandary, especially those who already bought them.

"You have to understand the limitations on using them before you spend your hard-earned money," Whitaker said.

Though the vague promise of future, more specific legislation exists, the only thing that is clear is that for now, these motor bikes will have no space in the Moses Lake roads.

"We will ask you to stop," Gavinski said. "Because it is illegal."