Proposed motorized play vehicle ordinance parked until next month

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Placing a number of requirements on operators of motorized play vehicles while riding in the City of Maricopa sent some members of council full speed forward Tuesday night.

Vice Mayor and Public Safety Committee Chair Brent Murphree defended his views that operators of the vehicles, oftentimes kids, should be required to wear helmets among other things.

On the other side of the table, Councilmen Will Dunn and Joseph Estes questioned just how far the city would go in legislation on such an item. Dunn also wondered if parents, who had just purchased a motor scooter for their child, would go out and spend another $75 or more for a helmet.

The conversation back-and-forth carried on for some time, with Murphree standing firm in his belief that the motorized play vehicle ordinance go forward.

“Head protection will save lives,” Murphree said. “If they wear it,” Dunn responded.
Estes then wondered, “At what point do we stop legislating parental responsibility?”

“Public safety feels strongly about this,” Murphree added. “We looked at an outright ban (of motorized play vehicles or motorized skateboards) versus some guidelines.”

Murphree said that the public safety committee agreed as a body that this motorized vehicle play ordinance was a good idea. Committee member Carl Diedrich told the audience that there had not been one objection to the proposed ordinance. “I would urge you to pass this,” Diedrich told council.

The committee had formed comprehensive rules and regulations relating to the establishment of procedures regulating motorized play vehicles within the City of Maricopa.

According to the proposed ordinance, all traffic laws shall apply to persons riding motorized play vehicles and motorized skateboards. Among the prohibited areas of operation are on any sidewalk, except for use in crossing such sidewalk by the most direct route to gain access to any public or private road or driveway; in any city parking structure or city park, except for use on public roadways within the park, or designated hike/bike trails; on any public property that has been posted or designated by the owner of such property as an area prohibiting the use of “skateboards”; on any public roadway consisting of a total of four (4) or more marked traffic lanes, or having an established speed limit of greater than thirty-five (35) miles per hour; and on any private property of another, or any public property which is not held open to the public for vehicle use, without the written permission of the owner, the person entitled to immediate possession of the property, or the authorized agent of either. General operating restrictions include no child under 13 shall operate a motorized play vehicle or motorized skateboard.

The proposed ordinance involving headgear states that any operator of a motorized play vehicle or motorized skateboard under the age of 18 being operated on a roadway shall at all times wear a full-face protective helmet on his or her head. Also, no person shall operate such a vehicle without eye protection.

The ordinance adds that violators are civil traffic violations and shall be cited and penalized in the same manner as provided by law for other civil violations.

While saying he is for safety, Dunn said his fear is that the committee is asking parents to do more than they will. “What information do we have to justify this?” Estes added.

Before making any decision on the matter, Dunn said he would like to sit in on the next public safety meeting (Oct. 15) to learn more.

In doing that, council decided to table the proposed motorized play vehicle ordinance for further discussion at its first meeting next month (Nov. 6).

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