City Council, police chief address scooter safety concerns

By Barbara Taormina

Like other cities and towns, Revere is struggling with mopeds and electric scooters, which have become a public safety threat to pedestrians, drivers and the young teens who ride them across the city. City councillors have received complaints from constituents about e-scooters and mopeds, and most have a story to share about an accident that resulted in injuries and property damage.

This week, Police Chief David Callahan and Sgt. James Rose, head of Revere’s Traffic Division, met with the council to discuss the ongoing challenge of managing the use of mopeds and e-scooters. “It’s a problem that started in the past couple of years that has gotten increasingly worse,” Callahan told councillors, adding that there are some rules and regulations for mopeds and scooters, “but not a lot of them.”

Callahan said police try to stop riders who are operating erratically, driving on sidewalks or otherwise riding in ways that endanger public safety. But, according to Callahan, the problem is scooter riders don’t stop for the police – they just take off and ride away.

The Revere Police Department’s policy is to not chase the riders. “We are not supposed to pursue them because there’s more harm that can be done than good,” said Callahan.

Rose described the situation as a double-edged sword. If police do pursue scooter riders and they crash, that’s a liability for the police department and the city. If they don’t pursue erratic riders, residents feel they are not doing their jobs.

Studies of scooters have found there are safety issues because the small tires don’t perform well on different street or trail surfaces.

“What do you need from us?” asked Ward 1 Councillor Joanne Mckenna who, like other councillors, wanted to know if Revere could establish city-specific regulations for scooters. Rose said crafting regulations generally fell to the state but Revere could tighten state rules.

Ward 4 Councillor Paul Argenzio said he recalled the city developed a scooter/moped ordinance about 15 years ago. He wasn’t sure what became of the rules and if they had been struck down in court, but he proposed revisiting a scooter ordinance.

Councillor-at-Large Juan Pablo Jaramillo suggested putting together a working group with reps from nearby communities who could share local ideas and strategies to make scooter use safer. “We could establish a regional approach to figure out some hard recommendations for the future,” said Jaramillo.

Although mopeds are required to have a license plate, motorized scooters are not considered vehicles and, according to the state, are not required to be registered. Callahan said one major issue is that scooters are not required to be insured, which leaves any problems or damage caused by collisions between scooters and vehicles in the hands of the vehicle owners. Councillor-at-Large Anthony Zambuto suggested making registration and insurance mandatory at the point of sale of the scooters.

Councillors also felt a public awareness campaign at the high school and with social media would help Revere teens understand the problems and risks with scooters and the consequences of risky riding.

Rose wasn’t sure riders would change their behaviors. He said police have seized scooters from riders who endanger public safety but the owners never turn up to claim them. He said local tow companies have dozens of scooters in their shops that have been abandoned.

Nevertheless, police intend to be more proactive about stopping risky scooter riders as the warmer weather rolls in.