Scooter shops slow to follow new rules

Lynn Doan

Thursday, Aug. 12, 2004 | 11:14 a.m.

The Las Vegas City Council passed an ordinance in May that requires businesses selling motorized scooters and skateboards to notify customers that such devices are subject to state laws.

Apparently, local businesses didn't get the memo.

The city's business licensing manager, Jim DiFiore, said the ordinance, passed after several youngsters were injured on the scooters, calls for businesses in Las Vegas to post "in a prominent place" a list of Nevada's motor vehicle laws that apply to motorized skateboards and motorized scooters. The notices must be in English and Spanish, and stores must also provide a written copy of the laws to customers, he said.

But a few business owners who did receive notice of the new requirements from the city complained that it was so vague as to leave them confused about what is expected. As a result, some are ignoring the law until they hear otherwise, and others are posting every bit of information they can find, and more.

Moises Garcia Jr., owner of Universal Turf Equipment on Bonanza Road, for example, said earlier this week, "There is no requirement to write anything out."

Garcia said he was informed of an ordinance that passed in May, but was never provided with instructions on how to convey the laws to his customers. Instead of handing customers a written notice of the laws, Garcia said, he has simply been telling them that the scooters and skateboards aren't street legal.

"We're not the law," he said. "They can go to the city and get the laws from them."

The day after a reporter told DiFiore of Garcia's confusion, a senior license officer from the city appeared at Garcia's store to provide him with ready-made notices to post on his walls.

However, the officer failed to tell Garcia that he must provide a copy of the notice to each customer, said Garcia, who plans to keep informing customers verbally.

"It seems to me like the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing," Garcia said.

According to state laws, motorized scooters and skateboards can be operated only by those with valid driver's licenses. DiFiore said business owners must outline four specific statutes when notifying customers: driving without a valid license, "motor vehicle" defined, "driver" defined and "driver's license" defined.

Las Vegas is the only local municipality with such a law. The scooters are outlawed in Henderson, but stores are not responsible for telling customers.

Las Vegas City Councilman Michael Mack, who pushed for the ordinance, said he thinks it is clear enough, and he plans to offer an amendment that will hold businesses that sell pocket bikes -- miniature motorcycles -- to the same standards.

"They're just scary," Mack said. "I think they're the new craze and they're just as unsafe as motorized scooters and skateboards and I want to include that in the language."

But before Mack starts adding to the language in the ordinance, he might want to clarify what is already in it, Rad Scooters co-owner Steve Arthur suggested. He, too, was informed of the ordinance in May, but the notice from the city didn't list which statutes he was required to post and hand out to customers, he said.

Arthur said he called the city to get a list of the laws but was referred to the Nevada Legislature's hotline. When he called state officials, Arthur said he was told that the laws relating to motorized scooters and skateboards would fill at least three pages.

"That would be like hanging an encyclopedia on your wall," Arthur said.

When Arthur called the city licensing department for an explanation, he said, "They didn't seem to know what to say."

According to DiFiore, businesses that sell motorized scooters and skateboards, including Wal-Mart and Vons, received a notification of the ordinance by mail. Now, if city inspectors come across a business that isn't following the ordinance, the business can be charged with a misdemeanor.

Checker Auto Parts stores are close to meeting all city requirements, posting red and white signs next to their motorized scooters and giving customers written notice of governing state laws. But even Checker Auto's signs are two statutes short, missing the definitions of a "driver" and "driver's license."

Checker Auto executives declined to comment.

Tri Power Scooters owner Anthony Mattio posted every state law he could find that might relate to motorized scooters in addition to information he found on the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles website. He also requires customers to sign contracts that confirm they've read the laws.

Mattio said he posts "whatever he can find," but would appreciate a Web site that lists specific requirements.

"(The ordinance) is fair in the sense that, as an owner and someone who sells motorized vehicles, I'm responsible for letting them know the laws," he said. "But it's not fair in the sense that I don't really know what laws to give them."