Motor-scooter ban sought
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Staff Writer
All over O'ahu, residents are complaining about kids zipping around on motorized scooters, running stop signs, speeding down sidewalks and creating that noise — that high-pitched, buzzing, whining, goes-right-through-you kind of noise that one police officer said simply "drives people nuts."
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
Dozens of complaints have poured into the Honolulu Police Department in the past few months, and in Kailua, a flood of calls about the scooters since February has prompted the Kailua Neighborhood Board to consider a largely symbolic vote that would ban them.
Clayton Urbano, 42, of Palama, rides his motor scooter down a side street in Mo'ili'ili.
There were 30 complaints last month alone, and that's just calls to neighborhood board members, said Kathy Bryant-Hunter, chairwoman of the Kailua board's transportation committee. In addition, police in Kailua receive about five complaints a day.
"Kids are riding two at a time, they don't obey speed limits, they don't obey stop signs," Bryant-Hunter said. "It's just a matter of time before someone is seriously injured."
Complaints islandwide have proliferated along with the popularity of the motorized scooters.
Enforcement is difficult, police say, with the scooters often gone by the time they can arrive to respond to a complaint. Beyond that lie problems in how to deal with the scooters, which by law are considered play vehicles, not allowed on the streets but legal to operate on sidewalks.
Part of the problem is that "there's new machines every year," said Sgt. Robert Lung of the HPD Traffic Division. "The law doesn't address these things."
The Kailua Neighborhood Board vote would not be binding, but the members said they want to lend their support to a similar move in the City Council.
Bill 40, which would ban motorized scooters from streets and sidewalks, was introduced by Councilman Romy Cachola after he received numerous complaints. To date, the measure has the support of the Kalihi Valley, Moanalua and Kalihi-Palama neighborhood boards, Cachola said. The Moanalua Valley and Moanalua Garden community associations also support the bill, he said.
Mopeds and motorbikes, while sometimes equally noisy, are legal on city streets as long as they're properly licensed and so far there is no move to ban or more strictly regulate their use.
Motorized scooters are not a new phenomenon, but they are experiencing a resurgence of interest likely brought about when Razor scooters hit the market a couple of years ago, said Wally Parcels of Bikefactory Sportshop. They're primarily sold to pre-teens and teenagers not yet old enough to drive. Prices range from $300 to $2,000 depending on whether it's a gas or electric engine, Parcels said.
Parcels said he sold about 50 motorized scooters last year but has stopped selling them because of mechanical problems, police concerns and safety issues.
"If I was 14 years old I would love to have one of those things," Parcels said. "But they can be hopped up. They can be very dangerous, unstable at any speed over 12 to 15 mph."
The scooters consist basically of a platform with small wheels at each end and a steering column with handlebars to turn the vehicle. It has no seat. Motorized scooters have engines mounted over the back wheel for riders of about 10 years and older.
The HPD's Lung said complaints have come in from around the island, and he believes safety is as much of an issue as noise.
"I think when it comes out, it's quiet enough, but then they start to modify and that makes it louder and the speed can go up to 25 mph," he said. "They can't be on the street, and if they go on the sidewalk it becomes dangerous for pedestrians."
People describing the sound from the motorized scooters say it's like a blend of leaf blowers, buzzing bees and chain saws.
Lt. Andrew Speese of the Kailua police station said the noise "drives people nuts" and that seems to be the real issue.
But even that can be a problem to enforce, said Lung.
"The courts have been throwing out noise citations because we don't have a decibel reading," Lung said.
Kailua resident Jack Miller said the peace and tranquility of his neighborhood has been devastated by the scooters.
"They have this high-pitched screaming noise that can be heard blocks away," Miller said.
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.
