Motor Scooters – like a bike, or like a motorcycle?

HB 961 and SB 708 require that certain motor scooters be titled and registered with the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. The bills also require that motor scooters be insured.

To decide where you stand on this issue, take this short SAT-like test:

Cars are to insurance like motor scooters are to:

1. Motorcycles
2. Bicycles

How you answered the above question has a profound impact on whether you support or oppose HB 961 and SB 708.  Under existing law, a motor scooter is not considered a motor vehicle, it is treated like a bike. This is an important legal point. Because it is not a motor vehicle, a scooter does not have to be insured.  More importantly, your car’s uninsured motorist coverage may not protect you in the event of an accident caused by a motor scooter. Similarly, if you are a qualified* pedestrian struck by a motor scooter, you cannot recieve compensation from the Maryland's Unsatisfied Claim and Judgment Fund, because that fund only compensates qualified victims of uninsured motor vehicles.

Supporters of the legislation believe the number of motor scooters on the road is growing; and that they are capable of causing accidents that should be covered by insurance. Opponents feel that forcing these costs on riders will make consumers less likely to buy motor scooters, and force them to use less safe motorbikes instead.

In contrast to motor scooters, motorcycles must be registered with the MVA, and must carry liability insurance. Bicycles, on the other hand, do not have to be registered or insured. If you answered (b) to the test, then the law does not have to change. If you answered (a), then maybe you want change.

　

Both sides have valid points. But if your barefoot toes are run over by a motor scooter in Ocean City this summer – will you treat it like an injury by a bicycle or a motorcycle?

*Insurance Article Section 20-601 of the Maryland Annaoted Code uses only 211 words to define "qualified person."  Basically, it requires you to not own a car or have any other insurance you could use to cover the injury. 

There, that took only 16 words.