§ 42-97. Electric personal assistive mobility devices.

(a)

Any person under the age of 16 operating an electric personal assistive mobility device shall wear a helmet of good fit, with the chin strap fastened securely under their chin.

(b)

No person or business shall rent or lease any electric personal assistive mobility device to or for the use of any person under the age of 16 unless the rental or lease includes a protective helmet of good fit, the operator intends to wear the helmet with the chin strap fastened securely under the chin at all times while operating an electric personal assistive mobility device and the operator has been provided posted or written notice explaining the provisions of this section. A reasonable fee may be charged for the helmet rental.

(c)

No person may operate an electric personal assistive mobility device on a public roadway or other public right-of-way unless the roadway or right-of-way has a posted speed limit of 25 miles per hour or less. A person operating an electric personal assistive mobility device may cross over public roadways and public right-of-ways with posted speeds of greater than 25 miles per hour in the same manner as a pedestrian.

(d)

No electric personal assistive mobility device may be operated at a speed greater than that which is reasonable and prudent for the existing conditions, and in no instance at a speed greater than six miles per hour.

(e)

No electric personal assistive mobility device may be operated in a careless or reckless manner.

(f)

Electric personal assistive mobility devices must be operated to the extreme left of the roadway when operating on public roadways or right-of-ways.

(g)

Operators of electric personal assistive mobility devices must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and other human-powered devices.

(h)

Electric personal assistive mobility devices may be operated on public roadways and other public right-of-ways only during daylight hours and may not be operated on the town's multiuse pedestrian paths, sidewalks and the property of the town.

(i)

Electric personal assistive mobility devices must be operated in accordance with all applicable state and local laws and ordinances.

(j)

Any violation of the provisions of this section shall be a misdemeanor and punishable as provided by G.S. 14-4 or as a civil violation and punishable by a civil penalty of $50.00.

(Ord. No. 10-06-019, Pt. II, 6-16-2010; Ord. No. 10-11-037, Pt. II, 11-3-2010)

Editor's note

Ord. No. 10-06-019, Pt. II, adopted June 16, 2010, enacted provisions intended for use as § 42-95. To preserve the style of this Code, and at the discretion of the editor, said provisions have been redesignated as § 42-97.