Motor scooter age limit lowered in Moses Lake

Rider gets law changed to match his age

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake resident Nicholas Reed, 12, was riding his scooter last May when a police officer stopped him.

"He said that I'm underage," Nicholas said.

Nicholas learned the age limit for riding a motorized scooter in Moses Lake was 16 years old. To him, the law didn't make sense — so he changed it.

The age limit is now exactly the same as Nicholas'.

In May, Nicholas wrote a letter to the City Council asking them to lower the age limit. The council placed him on the agenda, and at the meeting he spoke in support of the change, along with some buddies from school. Nicholas is a Columbia Basin Herald newspaper carrier who saved $180 from his routes to buy a scooter and make his deliveries easier. He rode the scooter for six months before he learned he was breaking the law.

"I have to get up a lot of hills," he said. Before he purchased the scooter, Nicholas rode his bike. Sometimes, his bag of newspapers would get stuck as he was riding along.

Nicholas' proposal to the council was partially controversial, with two of seven members of the council opposing the change made in July due to safety and insurance reasons.

Richard Pearce, one of the council members who opposed the age limit reduction, said he was concerned about a child's liability if they were to become involved in an accident.

Some residents have homeowners' insurance, Pearce said, but that is not the rule.

Bicycles are more traditional, are lighter and are probably traveling slower than a motorized scooter, he said.

"When you've got something that has the ability to go up to 25 miles per hour and you hit anything, why, that's gonna be a problem," Pearce said.

Enforcing the law could also become a problem because a child cannot always prove their age with identification, he said.

Pearce added that while Nicholas seemed responsible, "that's not the norm, I don't think," for someone his age.

Ronald Covey, mayor of Moses Lake, supported lowering the age limit.

"I think that the safety issues on a motorized scooter, as long as they're wearing protective headgear, are equivalent say, to riding a bicycle," Covey said.

Covey said a motorized scooter might actually be safer than a bicycle because the operator is more visible standing up.

Providing insurance is the responsibility of each family, he said.

Nicholas said he never worried the council would not follow his suggestion, but his dad, Blaine Reed, did worry.

Blaine Reed said the rules in place, including wearing a helmet, not riding on the sidewalk and avoiding major streets seem to be good rules.

"I think they were well written," he said.

Blaine Reed said he is proud of Nicholas Reed for following the law instead of ignoring it. He spent May to July using his bike to deliver papers while in the process of changing the law.

In the winter, he will have to ride his bike, since by law he is not allowed to ride his scooter after dark.

If another cop pulls him over to check his age, he said, "I'll go bring them back to my house and show them my (associated student body) card."