D.C. Police Warn About Scooter Snatchings - Traffic News Story ...

Scooters, cars,, trucks, rakes, hoses, sump pumps, plants, flowers, trees, ect. anything that is not nailed down and even then will be stolen from the front or back of your Washington DC home! Gotta bike then bring it in the house and scooters are easy targets and need not only two locks but disconnect power source too every time you park it. And if stolen check Cgraigs list within thirty minutes of theft...

Craigslist

Scooter Craziness! I just watched the 6 PM Friday NBC 4 news and the DC scooter theft report. I always watch the NBC 4 news but sometimes the reports are way too shallow. This was one of them. The whole report was misleading and not well reserched or reported - thus not educational, but a disservice to the public as a news report. Why? The report was all about scooter theft due to rising gas prices. How shallow can you get! Please note:

1. Scooter thefts have been high for many years all over the DC metro area;
2. because - scooters are not registered or licenced and therefore can be stolen and sold without any danger of being caught;
3. Thus a spike in thefts is not suprising:
4. But also note that anyone without a divers licences can ride a scooter on the street - even those who have had their licences revoked - or are illegaly in the country and cannot obtain a licence legally;
5. you only have to be 16 to drive a scooter - again no licence required;
6. No state (or district taxes raised from sccoter use or ownership);
7. Scooter sales across the DC metro area are "out of sight" and back orders are up to Xmas delivery right now!;
8. Scooters, while never expected to be a common "road vehicle" for the public under the current laws, is quickly rising in numbers on the road and becoming a real traffic hazard.

So what are our policymakers doing about this to assure a safe and law enforced transition to streets clogged with scooters? Not a dang thing so far as I can tell. At least not until some relative of a policymaker is run over by a scooter. And then all manner of over-reaction and regulation too silly to enforce will be passed.

I hope our policymakers can do a little law making in good time and in good form to keep scooters an option for local transportation and under logical and enforcable regulations. God forbide lawmakers wait until scooters numbers are out of control and we have a huge mess like that in Italy and Eastern Europe. Anyone who has been there know of what I speak.

Paschal,

You are incorrect. In the District of Columbia any 2 wheeled vehicle cabable of attaining speed greater than 30 mph (49cc's included) is considered a motorcycle requiring tags, insurance and yes a motorcycle license. Find a cop in the mood for actually enforcing the law, could result in multiple thousand dollar tickets. Lots of illegal scooters in the city and with out registratiion you are absolutely correct, check Craigs list. I'm on my 4th, 2 stolen, 2 crashed.

PS. Please watch out for those of us on 2 wheels!

Last night in Montgomery Village in Gaithersburg, there was an attempt of somebody taking a motorcycle from a parking lot by hotwiring it but some onlooker chased him away and police came in to investigate and now, there are patrols in the area. It is good to have the motorcycle in a garage. That is the safest bet.