In the Denver transportation ecosystem, electrical scooter firms are a comparatively new addition. The company fleets dropped scooters in Denver in May of 2018, and once they arrived, scooting was a lawless, Wild West exercise. Whatever guidelines existed, few riders knew and even fewer adopted.
Yet regardless of the chaos they introduced to the streets and sidewalks, there’s a lot to be stated for scooters. They’re eco-friendlier than automobiles. They take up much less area and so they don’t trigger as many parking points. For bar-hoppers, concert-goers, diners and others trying to keep away from parking complications and hoping to zip by way of varied components of central Denver, scooting is a perfect repair.
Denverite readers wrote in pleading for clarification on the principles and complaining about irresponsible riders endangering pedestrians.
So why achieve this many individuals hate scooters a lot?
From the start, scooter riders performed rooster with pedestrians. And they crashed and crashed and crashed on potholes, filling emergency rooms with lacerated, bone-broken sufferers. Cars swerved to miss them as they blew by way of crimson lights, and bikers had been pushed to the curb as scooters had been allowed into bike lanes.
Anybody who rolls, walks or drives commonly in Denver has seemingly dodged — and even collided with — out-of-control scooters. People say it’s exhausting doing so and makes public area really feel much less secure.
“Please stress to riders of bikes/scooters to use Bike Lanes, not our downtown sidewalks,” wrote Billy Lodo. “I am a senior downtown walker. Sidewalks r not safe!”
“Safety of Cherry Creek Trail for pedestrians is compromised by motorized bikes, scooters and hoverboards that go up to 30mph,” wrote Hilary Downes. “Please address.”
Since scooters got here to Denver, lawmakers have established some guidelines. The hope is that we will all coexist more-or-less fortunately. But guidelines are solely pretty much as good because the individuals who observe them.
Denver City Council has handed a string of scooter ordinances over time to assist riders know what’s — and isn’t — okay to do. The guidelines are all a part of the City’s Code of Ordinances, which governs every thing from landscaping and zoning to human rights.
The a part of the legislation about scooters is roofed underneath Transportation and Motor Vehicles. That contains guidelines for bikers, drivers and even horse-drawn carriages.
While the Code of Ordinances is broadly accessible, it’s not often learn. People are extra seemingly to observe the legal guidelines of frequent sense than the precise legislation.
But when it comes scooters, frequent sense isn’t so frequent and there isn’t consensus on what’s proper and unsuitable. So boning up on official coverage earlier than stepping onto the deck is a good concept.
Per legislation, scooters are handled like another automobile and given the identical rights. Riders have to observe visitors indicators, from crimson lights to cease and yield indicators, and stick to the pace restrict — even on bike trails.
There is one exception to when a rider can ignore cease indicators: When an officer of the legislation says it’s okay. An instance of that: If you’re leaving a ballgame, a police officer directing visitors supersedes no matter a visitors gentle says. If a gentle is crimson and a cop says go, you’d higher go.
Scooters aren’t given particular permissions to do U-turns and different turns when indicators say in any other case. If they need to do one thing different automobiles aren’t allowed to do, they’ve to pull over, get off and stroll, following no matter guidelines pedestrians are required to obey.
Here’s what you can’t have on a scooter.
Have you ever seen these goofball teams of associates driving two or three to a scooter? Or dad and mom with a child? That is not allowed. Only one particular person per scooter, please.
People carrying packages or different objects have to be ready to hold at the least one hand on the handlebars. We’re not certain how somebody might hold their stability on a scooter with out holding on, however in case you’re that coordinated, it’s a formidable ability that you just, sadly, can not share in Denver.
![A man weaves between pylons on a Lime electric scooter, June 12, 2018. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)](https://wp-denverite.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/06/180612-LIME-SCOOTER-DOWNTOWN-BIKESHARE-TRANSPORTATION-KEVINJBEATY-01.jpg)
Here’s how scooter riders have to work together with pedestrians.
Pedestrians have the appropriate of method — all the time. Period. No exceptions. If you hit a pedestrian together with your scooter, it’s on you.
That means in case you’re on the sidewalk, you have got to let walkers stroll and wheelchair customers roll. It’s not their job to get out of your method.
If you’re in visitors and pedestrians are crossing the street, you have got to allow them to achieve this with out zipping into them.
If you see people who find themselves strolling, working or rolling, give all of them the area they want to do their factor. It’s their prerogative. You’ve gotta wait.
Here’s how to ride on bike lanes and roadways.
You can’t ride greater than two abreast. Have three associates? One has to lead or observe. In a bike lane, typically, just one scooter will match, however the rule does not apply right here.
If you’re driving on the street or a bike lane — which is the place scooters belong — stick as far to the appropriate as you may safely. Don’t get doored. If you want to take the lane to keep secure, do. But in case you can, keep proper and let different automobiles move you.
Follow pace limits and hold your pace underneath management primarily based on the encompassing visitors.
There is a huge exception to guidelines of the place and how briskly scooters can go: City, state and federal workers, in uniform, can break these guidelines when doing their duties. Police working each marked and unmarked official police automobiles can do the identical.
![A Bird electric scooter awaits a rider on 15th Street downtown. June 11, 2018. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)](https://wp-denverite.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/06/180611-BIRD-ELECTRIC-SCOOTER-TRANSPORTATION-BIKESHARE-KEVINJBEATY-01.jpg)
Here’s how to park a scooter.
Scooters can be parked at any angle in opposition to a curb or in conjunction with the street the place parking is allowed. And they’ll be parked aspect by aspect, assuming they don’t block the motion of visitors.
Scooters can park on the sidewalk — however not in the event that they’re going to get in the way in which of wheelchairs and walkers. In brief: Don’t park in the center of the sidewalk.
So what’s the take care of driving a scooter on the sidewalk?
Generally, scooters ought to keep off each private and non-private sidewalks.
There are a few exceptions. You can ride on a sidewalk if it’s a part of a designated bike route and in case you’re parking or simply getting going, earlier than driving onto the road.
When scooters are on sidewalks they need to go lower than 6 miles per hour, and sure, give the appropriate of method to pedestrians.
Uniformed metropolis, state and federal workers are allowed to ride on sidewalks, so in case you see a crew of cops zipping by, don’t strive to make a citizen’s arrest. They’re nicely inside their rights.
![A delightful scooter on the 16th Street Mall. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite) 16th street mall; sixteenth street; central business district; downtown; denver; colorado; kevinjbeaty; denverite; cbd;](https://wp-denverite.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2016/08/160830-SIXTEENTH-KEVINJBEATY-21.jpg)
Light it up!
No, you may’t get excessive and ride (although lots do). But you must gentle up your scooter, per legislation.
Every scooter on the roads from daybreak to nightfall wants to be geared up with a entrance white-light lamp that may be seen 500 ft forward, a rear reflector seen 600 ft away underneath the beams of headlights and reflective supplies on each side seen from 600 ft away. If the scooter doesn’t have side-reflective materials, the sunshine should be seen from each side.
No, you may’t ride in all places!
The metropolis’s visitors engineer has the appropriate to ban scooters from sure roadways and submit indicators at will. Those embody the sixteenth Street Mall, the place riders regularly buck the principles, regardless of it being the one no-scooter zone codified into metropolis legislation.
Guess who’s allowed to ride the place others could not: Law enforcement on the job.
![Allan Tellis rides a Lime scooter. Lime launches its dockless electric scooters in Denver outside of Mutiny Information Cafe, May 25, 2018. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite) denver; colorado; denverite; transportation; lime; south broadway; kevinjbeaty; scooters;](https://wp-denverite.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/05/180525-LIME-SCOOTERS-KEVINJBEATY-02.jpg)
More guidelines could be coming.
The Department of Public Works has the appropriate to create new scooter guidelines, together with these focusing on electrical scooter firms, which might be cited for violations and fined.
Those firms may also be fined for failing to acquire permits to function.
Common sense — though it’s unusual — goes a good distance. And not all circumstances are coated by legislation.
If you’re scooting round city and are confronted by different avenue and sidewalk customers, hold your cool. Fights simply aren’t price it. If you make a mistake and break the principles, fess up and apologize. No want to defend your jerky conduct. If you don’t know what you’re doing put on a helmet and pads and observe, observe, observe.
Mostly, have enjoyable, be form and respect your fellow visitors customers. If you’re not certain what the rule is, strive to do the cautious factor. And ultimately, individuals would possibly simply begin loving scooter riders on the streets… perhaps.
Ride secure, individuals.