New laws affect moped and scooter owners

The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles’ new law could affect on campus parking for moped and scooter owners. The law went into effect July 1, 2013.

Virginia Law now requires moped drivers to carry a government-issued ID and wear a helmet. If a moped has no windshield the driver must wear safety glasses or goggles. In addition, moped owners who plan to operate their vehicles on Virginia roadways will be required to title and register their vehicles by July 1, 2014.

How might it affect the Virginia Tech community? In addition to the new rules required by the Virginia law, owners of non-conventional vehicles such as mopeds or scooters will be required to purchase parking permits to park on campus.

The decision to change moped laws came after the General Assembly requested that the DMV have an ongoing work group study many varieties of non-conventional vehicles.

The study found that as a result of rising gas prices and the affordability and availability of mopeds, the number of these vehicles on Virginia roads has significantly increased. Because the number of mopeds has grown and continues to grow, many have expressed concerns regarding proper usage of mopeds, their road safety, and current laws on operating mopeds on public roadways. These concerns have led to the new laws, which were designed to ensure safety and aid in the identification and locating of mopeds and their drivers after a crash or theft.

With no past requirements to register these non-conventional vehicles the DMV is unsure of how many people this law will directly effect.

So far the change has been well received. Sunni Brown, DMV public relations and media liaison, said the DMV has not been made aware of any negative feedback from the moped community. Much of the DMV research was harvested from stakeholders such as moped dealership owners who were part of the work group that conducted the study.