Editorial: Put laws in context

Monday, Aug. 16, 2004 | 8:50 a.m.

The Las Vegas City Council passed an ordinance in May requiring shops that sell motorized scooters and skateboards to prominently display Nevada's laws regulating their use. The ordinance also called upon sellers to give their customers copies of the laws. The ordinance was well intended. Children were riding illegally on streets and sidewalks and getting hurt. Unfortunately, no one thought to inform the shop owners of exactly which laws they were to post and hand out.

Taking advantage of that oversight, some store owners saw no need for any initiative on their part and ignored the ordinance. Others went overboard, inundating their customers with so much information that it probably went unread. At least one salesperson tried calling the city for a clarification, but was referred to the Nevada Legislature's hotline.

Governments should immediately follow up their laws and ordinances, especially those passed for safety reasons, to ensure there are no barriers to having them obeyed. In this case, a simple posting on the city's Web site of the laws it wanted customers to know about could have cleared up the confusion.

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