NO. 91.  AN ACT RELATING TO THE USE OF ELECTRIC PERSONAL ASSISTIVE MOBILITY DEVICES.

(S.297)

It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:

Sec. 1.  23 V.S.A. § 4(66) and (67) are added to read:

(66)  “Electric personal assistive mobility device” (EPAMD) means a self‑balancing, two nontandem‑wheeled device, designed to transport only one person, with an electric propulsion system with average power of 750 watts (1 h.p.).

(67)  “Pedestrian” means any person afoot, and shall also include any person 16 years of age or older operating an electric personal assistive mobility device.  The age restriction of this subdivision shall not apply to a person who has an ambulatory disability as defined in section 304a of this title.

Sec. 2.  23 V.S.A. § 4(18) is amended to read:

(18)  “Motorcycle” shall mean any motor driven vehicle having a seat or saddle for the use of the rider and designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground, but excluding mo-peds, golf carts, track driven vehicles, tractors, electric personal assistive mobility devices, and vehicles on which the operator and passengers ride within an enclosed cab, except that a vehicle which is fully enclosed, has three wheels in contact with the ground, weighs less than 1,500 pounds, has the capacity to maintain posted highway speed limits, and which uses electricity as its primary motive power shall be registered as a motorcycle but the operator of such vehicle shall not be required to have a motorcycle endorsement nor to comply with the provisions of section 1256 of this title (motorcycles-headgear) in the operation of such a vehicle.

Sec. 3.  23 V.S.A. § 4(21) is amended to read:

(21)  “Motor vehicle” shall include all vehicles propelled or drawn by power other than muscular power, except tractors used entirely for work on the farm, vehicles running only upon stationary rails or tracks, motorized highway building equipment, road making appliances, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles or, implements of husbandry, or tracked vehicles, or electric personal assistive mobility devices;

Sec. 4.  23 V.S.A. § 4(45) is amended to read:

(45)  “Mo-ped” means a motor driven cycle equipped with two or three wheels, foot pedals to permit muscular propulsion, a power source providing up to a maximum of two brake horsepower and having a maximum piston or rotor displacement of 50 cubic centimeters if a combustion engine is used, which will propel the vehicle, unassisted, at a speed not to exceed 30 miles per hour on a level road surface and is equipped with a power drive system that functions directly or automatically only, not requiring clutching or shifting by the operator after the drive system is engaged.  As motor vehicles, mo-peds shall be subject to the purchase and use tax imposed under chapter 219 of Title 32 rather than to a general sales tax.  An electric personal assistive mobility device is not a mo-ped;

Sec. 5.  23 V.S.A. § 311(a) is amended to read:

(a)  Notwithstanding any other provisions of this title, the The commissioner, for an annual fee of $2.00 and under such conditions as he or she may prescribe, may permit licensed operators to operate motor vehicles not otherwise registerable across a public highway; however, an unlicensed person may so operate a motorized wheelchair or an electric personal assistive mobility device as defined by this title without obtaining a permit.

Sec. 6.  23 V.S.A. § 1132 is amended to read:

§ 1132.  DRIVING ON SIDEWALK

No person shall drive any motor vehicle on a sidewalk or on any area designated exclusively for pedestrian traffic, except while crossing a driveway.  Nothing in this section shall prohibit the operation of an electric personal assistive mobility device, at a speed not to exceed eight miles per hour, on a sidewalk by a person who is at least 16 years of age or who has an ambulatory disability as defined in section 304a of this title.  Nor shall the provisions of this section limit the authority of a municipality under the provisions of 24 V.S.A. § 2291(1), (4) and (5) to regulate the use and operation of these devices.

 

Sec. 7.  REDESIGNATION

23 V.S.A. chapter 13, subchapter 12 is redesignated as follows:

Subchapter 12.  Operation of Bicycles, Electric Personal Assistive Mobility Devices and Play Vehicles

Sec. 8.  23 V.S.A. § 1141a is added to read:

§ 1141a.  ELECTRIC PERSONAL ASSISTIVE MOBILITY DEVICES

                (EPAMD); REQUIRED EQUIPMENT; OPERATION

(a)  Equipment.  An electric personal assistive mobility device shall be equipped as follows:

(1)  with front, rear, and side reflectors; and

(2)  with a system that will enable the operator to bring the device to a controlled stop; and

(3)  if the device is operated between one-half hour after sunset and

one-half hour before sunrise, with a lamp emitting a white light which, while the device is in motion, shall illuminate the area in front of the operator.

(b)  Rights and duties of operator.  The operator of an EPAMD shall have the rights and duties of pedestrians as set forth in chapter 13, subchapter 5 of this title.

(c)  Hazardous materials.  No person shall carry or transport on an EPAMD, any hazardous materials as defined in 5 V.S.A. § 2001.  Fines imposed for violations of this subsection shall be in accordance with fines imposed for violations of section 2001.

(d)  Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of a municipality under the provisions of 24 V.S.A. § 2291(1), (4) and (5) to regulate the use and operation of EPAMDs.

Sec. 9.  23 V.S.A. § 1142 is amended to read:

§ 1142.  PENALTIES

A person who violates any provision of sections 1136 through 1141

1141a(a) of this title shall be fined not more than $25.00 for each offense.

Sec. 10.  23 V.S.A. § 3501(5) is amended to read:

(5)  “All-terrain vehicle” or “ATV” means any nonhighway recreational vehicle, except snowmobiles, when used for cross-country travel on trails or on any one of the following or a combination thereof: land, water, snow, ice, marsh, swampland and natural terrain.  An “all-terrain vehicle” or “ATV” on a highway shall be considered a motor vehicle, as defined in section 4 of this title.  An all-terrain vehicle or ATV shall not include an electric personal assistive mobility device.

Approved:  May 1, 2002