This is my gallery designed to entice those who look at the pictures, videos and read the articles under some of the pictures to write the North Carolina representative and complain. Tell them what the real world is like having to dodge these menaces on our motorways ! How unfair and illogical it is allowing such things ( and its operators ) on our road system. At the top or bottom right you will see NEXT to take you to the next picture.
This gallery and the works within have been sent to EVERY SINGLE NC Representative. Only one rep " Pricey Harrison" acknowledged in an email that this gallery was received. That should give you an inclination as to why there is such a moped problem in our state. No one in our states legislature will do anything about the moped problem. Just recently NC passed a law where mopeds ( moped operators ) have to have their liquir sickles registered with license plates. Let me boldy ask " what in the hell does having these targets of roadway mayhem registered have anything to do with highway safety ?
Contact your NC representative and complain. Feel free to share this web gallery !
The list of available NC representatives can be found at ...
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/members/reports/room-phone.pl?Chamber=House&viewType=normal
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Moped Dangers. This work reflects the dangers mopeds pose to our North Carolina road system. I am a CDL driver with all endorsements including motorcycle. I have 0 points on my insurance and license and have recently taken a defensive driving course. I'm also on the safety committee at work ( where transportation is the major job ) and our company is a member of the Safety Star Program so you can see the concern I have for this issue. During my workday I am constantly challenged with problems that moped operators create for me and I see others on the road having the same challenges. The more I study about the situation the more surprised that such a phenomena is allowed to exist. I have spoken with many law enforcement officers , studied the NC DMV website rigorously and interviewed many people that have great insight into this problem. I have compiled my findings here. In my work I will list each subject dealing with the moped problem by number.
There are a few videos I made to just give you a sample of the dangers mopeds create to the general public. - IF the links are not hyperlink, simply copy and past them in your address bar.
I suppose he doesn't know what the green light and the one way sign means, nor does he give the right of way to oncoming traffic ! Why should he, our laws don't require him too ! - - http://youtu.be/2r7rarVFg8A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB2-AcCSqdU&feature=share&list=UUMcVhm07VGIcUJWqMF5-1Gg&index=5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDjNobJUEOs&list=UUMcVhm07VGIcUJWqMF5-1Gg
http://youtu.be/IyTODRgSHGI
http://youtu.be/SPQ8vsM8m58
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MgRItI6bMU&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PVKUwUHBVA
Allow me to give NC's General Statute GS 105-164.3 ( 22) defintion of a moped. - A vehicle that has two or three wheels, no external shifting device, and a motor that does not exceed 50 cubic centimeters piston displacement and cannot propel the vehicle at a speed greater than 30 mph on a level service.
I have to say even before I start listing the problems with mopeds. ALL mopeds are designed to travel at a speed greater than 30 mph on a level surface when the come out of the store ! I invite you to confirm this claim by calling any moped dealer or ask any moped rider. According to law , that would mean every single one of them needs to be licensed as a motorcycle ! Mopeds can be easily modified to increase their speeds well beyond their legal limit as shown in this video I made - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-iWTjIHl-M
But even though its a vehicle with a motor on it, NC doesnt recognize it as a motor vehicle !! Here is NC's definition of a motor vehicle - Motor Vehicle. - Every vehicle which is self-propelled and every vehicle designed to run upon the highways which is pulled by a self-propelled vehicle. Except as specifically provided otherwise, this term shall not include mopeds or electric assisted bicycles.-- This shall not include mopeds as defined in GS 20-4.01 ( 27 ) dl.
Its very strange that NC included that mopeds were not motor vehicles even though they meet the specifications of a motor vehicle and even stranger that the NC assembly approved a maximum speed increase for mopeds from 20 mph to 30 mph back in 1991. I can only assume they must have realized that mopeds traveling at 20 mph were causing too much traffic congestion and thought that allowing them to go 30 mph would fix everything ! It doesnt take much intelligence to understand that the faster a vehicle travels, the longer ( and more dangerous ) it will take for another vehicle to pass it !
This straight out of NSC Driver Safety Manual page 19. Heres what you do when you meet a slow moving vehicle. 1. Slow down. 2. Use a 3 second minimum following distance, allowing you to see around the vehicle. 3. Pass only when it is necessary, safe and legal. According to safety ( and the law ) you can NOT pass a moped unless you can pass one in a passing zone OR allow 2 feet of space between your car and the moped. Now I ask where are you going to find a road where the lane allows you to pass a moped with 2 feet of space between you and him without crossing the center line ? If you obey the law as stated when getting behind a moped ( where the speed limit is above 35 ) you will cause a terrible traffic jam ! This will also entice those following behind you to , to pass you and the moped'r.... including any other cars they need to. It makes for a real dangerous and illegal situation.
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1. First and foremost problem is NC's short list of requirements for someone to ride a moped. You better sit down for this ! All that a moped operator needs to drive that little motorized menace on our main roads is 3 things. To be 16 or older, wear a helmet, and have an ID card. Thats its ! This is your NC legislatures mentality in is purest form. Where does NC get its reasoning to require so little of a moped operator in relation to a motorcycle operator ?
So lets go over those things they dont need and try search for any logic in it. They are not required to have a drivers license. I suppose this is the biggest head scratcher for me. NC law does not require someone who drives on most roadways in our state to have a valid drivers license. They are not required to know any operating rules of the road, no requirements for knowing what any of the road signs mean, no right of ways, no rules about yielding, no hand signals, no nothing. They are not required to even have opened a drivers manual at any time in their lives ! They are found at our interesections, our stop lights, around school buses/zones, gasoline tankers, congested highways etc. Yes they are allowed to buzz our secondary roads and fully accessed fully controlled highways where speed limits are 55 mph !
I thought the primary reason we study to receive a drivers license is for the sake of safety. Its obvious that NC lawmakers dont think its necessary for a 30 mph motor vehicle operator ( yes its a motor vehicle ) to know who has the right of way when coming to an intersection at the same time ! To learn more about what moped operators need to know that NC law doesnt require them to know please visit .... http://www.ncdot.gov/download/dmv/handbooks_MotoHandbook.pdf
2. Revoked license moped operators. Now this is where it gets sick , I mean really weird. There is a moral law written in the hearts of men ( or it should be ) that when someone does something wrong that influences someone else or society as a whole in a negative manner, a deterrent should be imposed on said offender. It creates a better living environment and safer enviroment for everyone. Once you're behind the wheel it doesn't matter where you're from, who you are, how famous you are, how poor, how rich, how anything ... when we're given a driver's license, it is a privilege and a part of that privilege has a responsibility," If one shows they aren't able to meet the requirements of that responsibility, that privilege should be taken away. However our NC representatives dont think so ! They think your drivers license and driving privaleges are two separate things !!! I say this because a moped operator who has NO drivers license STILL HAS DRIVING PRIVALEGES !!!
How a drunken driver or someone who has received more than 12 points on his/her license is allowed to continue to drive on our roadways on a device that causes more danger to our roadways than if they were still in a car is beyond anything I could possibly imagine. I thought when you lose your license its purpose was to bear a burden of having to stay off the road so you will be inclined not to drink and drive again. Evidently this is not the case for moped operators. Who in their right mind would allow something so dangerous to continue ? Answer : Our NC lawmakers ! I ask myself why would our lawmakers allow revoked licensee's to continue driving on the road ? Do they think they no longer pose a danger to others since they are on a moped ? In fact they pose MORE danger to us because its proven they revoked licensees dont have the responsiblity required to be on our roads yet NC lawmakers allow them to be on our roads with something that will cause CONSTANT DANGER TO ALL OF US !!
2B- Heres a fact that will get you steaming. I invite you to contact any attorney or legal rep in NC to find if this is true. A revoked moped operator who has lost his drivers license due to an over abundance of traffic violations will NOW BE IMMUNE from losing anything more other than traffic violation costs in court. What I'm saying is that once a person loses their license and is forced to ride a moped will no longer lose anything else other than court costs and traffic violation costs. A revoked licensee on a moped cant have his license revoked.... he has no license. Will he go to jail for getting more tickets ( not including a dwi ) ? NO !
The deterrent of losing your drivers license no longer applies to moped operator because they have no license to lose ! They can perpetually break all NC traffic laws as long as they can pay their tickets off. There are no more penalties to incur as we who are license are burdened with. DWI's will put a moped operator in jail , however every other traffic violation only requires them to pay the ticket off. They dont get , jail time, or have their moped driving privileges taken away.
3. Insurance- Moped operators dont pay insurance. Why, because our lawmakers simply dont require it of them. Again I dont know what the reason is behind this because I do know they cause accidents. And let me share this bit of painful info... Your hard earned dollars cover them through uninsured motorist dividends . If they get hurt/damaged, your dollars pay for them. If you get hurt, your dollars pay for you. Does this sound fair ? They dont have to pay anything ! Its a lose lose situation. Their free to ride, free to crash, whether its your fault or not, it always going to be your cash ! If a simple wreck report and insurance claim gets contended , you will have to take the moped operator to civil court and seek a judgement. But even if you win, you will not be compensated because the moped operator cant do it. Why ? Because he cant afford a car and or insurance !!! Thats why he is driving a moped ! I hope you see the insanity to all this.
4. Eye Test. Moped Operators are not required to have an eye test. Not required to have corrective lenses. If a persons eyesight gets so bad that they have their license revoked they can resort to riding a moped. A missle directed by a blind person on our roadways is allowed by law. This includes all other health issues that can make it dangerous to operate a car . And speaking of ones eyes, a moped operator is not required to know how to read ! Do I need to go into detail about how dangerous this is ? ( School Zone Ahead ) for example !!
5. Record keeping on infractions - There is no written rule the court system goes by keeping track of a MO's driving record... ( as I understand ). He or she does not accrue driving and insurance points like you and I. When we accrue enough points on our license, our license gets taken away. Moped operators are IMMUNE from this rule of logic. As long as they can afford the tickets, they can keep breaking the law without fear of losing their driving privileges. Why ? BECAUSE THEY DONT HAVE A DRIVERS LICENSE TO LOSE ! I have already coverd this. This sounds insane and IT IS !!! Truthfully I do not know how they keep track of such things when one does not require to have a drivers license !
http://www.dmv.org/nc-north-carolina/point-system.php
6 This inclusion has been change but I will leave it up here for refernce to the specific past problem with mopeds...... Registration - Moped operators are immune from the responsibilities to have their ( here we go again with the definition of motor vehicles ) mopeds registered. The law does not require them to have any marks of identification . There is no way to report a MO to the police by way of a license plate or registration markings. They can run over your child as he/she is exiting a school bus, kill your child and run run run away ! Simply change your shirt and helmet and you probably will get away with it.
7 . No inspection - NC doesnt require a moped to be inspected. However the law requires them to have a headlight and brake light.... but remember NC law says that mopeds are not motor vehicles. Yeh ; Im still trying to figure that out. Like any other thing over time parts can wear and become dangerous but NC law allows a moped to fall apart while continuing to be operated on our roadways.
8. Maximum speed - 30 MPH is maximum speed for a moped on a level road. This 30 mph is reached only through optimum conditions. Add a hill, wind, one of those cheesy looking drinking buddy's on your backseat with a 12 pack of beer ( groceries ) on the handlebar basket and the speed is much much slower. So at 30 mph, why are they out on the highway where the speed is 55 mph and the law ( as I see ) are often ignoring their presence ? Because NC law allows it ! I have spoken with a state trooper about this and he said they often just turn their eyes to such a sight !!
9. Passing - Now for the big concern as you have seen at the video link above. Trying to pass them without going to jail. Will they get out of your way ... I mean all the way over so to let you by without crossing over the yellow line ? Almost never ! When you do go around them, you are crossing the yellow line and subsquently accepting all responsibilty when doing so. MO's are forcing you into a precarious situation because the law does not allow them to reach the speed limit . If they were able to do the speed limit, it would mean they would need to be licensed by law. When a moped operator does move over and ride in that very narrow area on the side of the road, the narrow space makes it very dangerous for them to stay on the road. Potholes are usually found on the edge or roads and often big chunks asphalt are missing in the same areas. Then what are they to do about driveways and mailboxes ? It makes no safety sense for them to ride on the side of the road. Imagine you passing one when said moped'r needs to dodge a pothole in the road. Does he A. Run into you B. Run into the pothole or C. Run completely off the road ?
The problem is NOT resolved just by having them move over ( to the area right of the white line ). See, nothing makes logical sense here. They operate on roadways where they can not maintain a safe speed for general traffic. They often ride in the middle of the road causing traffic to congest behind them, forcing many to pass in dangerous areas. The car operators need to pass and MO's stay in the middle of the road ( and moving to the side barely helps ) forcing car operators to either cross the center lane ( including double yellow line lanes ) or causing a traffic pileup. And now the problem gets more complicated when you find MO's riding in groups ! Yes theres gangs of them out there making it IMPOSSIBLE to pass them even illegally passing them ! And if that isnt enough, mopeds are being made that are trikes ! 3 wheels ! http://www.countyimports.com/inc/sdetail/cms_49cc_icebear_mojo_scooter___3_wheel_trike_moped___free_shipping__for_sale___mp_14018__/19235/22402
Now some are being made wider which in turn makes it impossible for them to safely move out of the way ! Its good to know moped operators can now ride something that will give them more stability after they've been drinking.
10 - Commercial vehicles- Imagine trying to pass one or two of these mopeds on a narrow country road driving a 80,000 pound tanker full of gasoline or some other hazardous material ? Its not just me driving the tanker who is in jeopardy , its the moped operator , its you who is coming in the opposite direction, its the whole neighborhood ! Sound silly ? Well let me bring the problem in perspective for you, the drivers of school busses who your children are entrusted to are having the same problem ! Commerical vehicled drivers are not only on the interstate but on roads that are ovewhelmed with mopeds.
11-night driving - Imagine driving home at night and directly in front of you are two bright headlights ! They don't appear to be moving back into the oncoming lane. So why is that cars headlights in your lane headed right at you for so long? You slow down or even stop to avoid a head on collision. As the car gets closer you now see whats going on. The car is going around a moped driver because he must cross the lines and take much longer than what safety allows. See bicyclists stay off the road (usually) at night and because mopedr's ride at night with ( faint headlights ) its hard to see them and it takes much longer to get around them than bicycles. So if you see a car playing chicken with you on the road at night, its probably due to a moped.
12- Attachements - I spoke with and saw for myself a MO operator pulling a lawmower on a trailer ! He claimes he checked with the police to see if it was allowed and he said they said yes. Imagine the take off speed and top speed of such a vehicle on the road. Imagine the inertia imposed on a little moped by a trailer and lawmower when it needs to stop. Are there no regulations for what can be attached to these vehicles ?
13. Ignorance - Nothing is required of moped operators to know where they are allowed to ride. The only place they are not allowed is limited access fully controlled highways or easier stated " interstate highways ". They are ALLOWED by law to ride on the fully accessed highways which implies roadways that have businesses or homes whose drives connect to the highway. This includes all business highways of the same description whose speed limit is 55 mph ! As stated above the law allows moped operators to ride on our roads without knowing the rules of the road BUT moped operators are subject to the rules of the road. Rules of the road that our lawmaker dont require moped operators to know ! Yes... this is our NC lawmakers logic !
14. ( this one is outdated but will leave it up for purpose of reflection ). Search for stories of criminals who use mopeds to commit crimes. A moped without identification can be ditched anywhere after a crime and no trace to the perpetrator can take place. This includes bank robberies, convenient store robberies, murders and DWI offenders !
15. Unknown cubic centimeter displacement of engine size. Mopeds under 50cc don't need license or insurance, those above do . However law enforcement CANT know which moped is under or over 50 CC just by looking at them. Many scooters have all types of engine sizes. So how is a cop to know if that 49 CC scooter that is doing 55 mph isn't a scooter that is 80 cc and driven by a licensed and insured driver ( or one that is driven by an unlicensed operator ) ?!
Conclusion - The moped problem may not have came to the NC General assembly's attention yet the way it needs to... OR it has and they are ignoring it . Maybe for reasons I wont reveal.
Like most other things it may take the death of a politician or a family member of one for something to be done about it. How many mopeds on the road will it take before the our defenders of right become aware of the dangers they create before something is done ?
There increasing in number fast. Write your senator / governor / NC rep/ federal division of highways and DOT before you or a loved one kills a MO and is wrongfully blamed for it. Worse yet someone may be killed trying to get around one. You may just save your own life. Express your concerns about highway safety ! Do what you can to get these dangers off the road and make our roadways a safer place !
NC moped laws - http://moped2.org/laws/North-Carolina.htm
Did you read this far? One last question . A question to let you know how F'd up the NC laws concerning mopeds are. North Carolina law requires a motorcycle operator to have a drivers license ( and all that is required to get them ) and take a motorcycle test to assure that they are qualified to operate such a vehicle. Why does NC not require moped operators to do the same ?
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The Dangers of Mopeds
Mopeds and scooters have maintained a steady presence in Europe and Asia for decades. In the U.S., however, there has been a recent resurgence in the popularity of this type of transportation. Many people find the economic advantages of mopeds to be worth the dangers of riding them. Scooters may seem safe because they usually cannot reach the top speeds of cars and motorcycles, but this makes them risky, as well.
Different types of mopeds can reach different speeds. Many mopeds can only reach speeds of 20 to 40 miles-per-hour. Therefore, the scooter’s engine won’t be able to accelerate quickly or speed up when trying to pass other vehicles. This can result in accidents or can anger other drivers.
Another vulnerability of mopeds is their reduced size. Other cars and trucks on the road, especially in urban traffic, could have a hard time seeing a moped. Larger SUVs, vans, and trucks have bigger blind spots and have great difficulty seeing drivers in smaller vehicles. Moped drivers should be especially cautious when another driver is making turns or changing lanes for this very reason.
The risk of single-vehicle accidents is higher for mopeds. The stability of these vehicles relies on the driver’s ability to maintain balance, and they do not have the outer protection of a car. Airborne projectiles also pose a risk to these drivers because a helmet can only protect a driver’s head and not the rest of his or her body.
-------Very important MOPED LINKS BELOW --------------------------
http://nccriminallaw.sog.unc.edu/?p=3765
http://www.splitrockre.com/2006/07/mopeds-are-dangerous.html
Mopeds, the legal loophole for repeat DWI offenders ! - http://www.wral.com/asset/news/local/wral_investigates/2012/06/20/11228511/Moped_Loophole.pdf
Who pays when a moped is at fault ? http://www.myreporter.com/?p=2628
http://myfox8.com/2013/02/08/new-bill-could-put-restrictions-on-scooter-drivers/
passing on a solid yellow line - http://www.simonborys.ca/2010/05/is-it-illegal-to-pass-on-a-solid-yellow-line/
