*** Scooters save on gas, but are they skirting the law? ***

Cincinnati, OH (AP) -- 06/16/2004
Charles Turner works at a gas station, so he knows how
much money he can save by not driving his car to work.

He opts for his Go-Ped Sport, a scooter resembling a
skateboard with handlebars and an engine strapped to
the back. It gets 100 miles to the gallon using a small
gas-oil-fueled engine, which suits his wallet just fine
during a summer of record-setting fuel prices.

"The way gas is, you should see a lot of people on them,"
he says.

Turner, 48, is one of many who are leaving their car keys at
home and hopping aboard motorized scooters this summer,
despite laws barring the gas- or electric-powered vehicles
from some local roadways.

The scooters, ranging from $300-$800, and targeted mainly
to children and teens, aren't necessarily giving bicycles a run
for their money, but they have the "x-factor," an engine that
does all the work.

"Every time you put a motor on something, kids are gonna
want to ride it," says Lenny Vainberg, vice president of
Orange County, Calif.-based scooter manufacturer eBladez.

Joshua McCord, 12, of Florence, says he gave away his bike
a while ago and only rides his Go-Ped. "No one on a bicycle
can keep up with my Go-Ped," says McCord. His dad, Lawrence,
says that he bought his son a Go-Ped because he wished they were
around when he was a tyke. "It starts with us parents," he says.
"It's the kid coming out in us."

Despite the booming popularity of the noisy machines, Ohio is
among states with laws that prohibit the use of certain motorized
scooters on roadways. In order to be street legal in Ohio, scooters
must fit motorcycle guidelines, which include operators 16 or older
with a license, as well as all of the following elements: turn signals,
seat, brake lights, rear-view mirrors and horn. While some of the
new scooters have seats, most lack all the elements to be legally
operated on city streets in Ohio.

In Kentucky, however, scooter engines falling under 50 cubic
centimeters are subject to the same regulations as bicycles and
can be operated in the streets. (Most "Go-Ped" style scooter
engines are about 20 cubic centimeters.)

"We haven't had many problems with them," says
Capt. Phil Liles, Newport Police Patrol Division commander.

While the scooters are not legal on Ohio's streets, neither state's
laws address the use of motorized scooters on sidewalks, and it's
unclear what will happen when their increased popularity results in
a need for further regulation.

"If you have a 10-year-old riding down the sidewalk, what are
you going to cite them for?" says Liles, adding that police will
only ticket a rider if the rider is destroying property or causing
injury.
"It'll eventually have to be addressed."

Sgt. Rick Zwayer of the Ohio Highway Patrol says that first-time
offenders cited for riding the scooters on streets can be fined a
maximum of $100, but there is a learning curve for officers in
deciding how to deal with the vehicles.

While there are dozens of models on the market, the original
design for the modern wave of motorized scooters came from
Steve Patmont in the San Francisco area in 1985, when he
formed Patmont Motor Werks, the company that produces
the Go-Ped brand.

Tim Patmont, company chairperson and Steve's son, notes that
sales of the machines rose steadily until plateauing in 2000 when
he says other brands, including Mosquito and eBladez tweaked
his father's design and flooded department stores and the Internet.

Patmont says the privately held company has never advertised,
choosing to remain "underground." He estimates it has sold
more than a million Go-Peds through word-of-mouth.

No matter how police decide to deal with this form of two-wheeled
transport, gas station attendant Turner isn't concerned with the cops
disrupting his trip to work.

Geneb...Wenatchee,Washington-USA
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