Evansville Police and Mayor’s Office Petition State Legislature for Tougher Indiana Scooter Laws

The online petition looks to persuade Indiana lawmakers to update current state requirements for those who use the motorized two wheelers to travel Evansville roadways.

The recent increase in scooter traffic in the Evansville area has recently given birth to a popular Facebook page, and unfortunately has also resulted in an increase of scooter related accidents. The current requirements for operating a scooter are about as bare minimum as they can get. Riders must be at least 15 years of age, and carry a state issued identification card. Unlike a car, truck, van, SUV, or even motorcycle, there is no requirement the operator must have the scooter insured.

To be clear, the EPD and Mayor Winnecke's office are not on some sort of "witch hunt" trying to eliminate scooters from the roads altogether, as they understand for many residents, outside of walking or public transportation, a scooter may be the only option for getting from point 'A' to point 'B'.

In an interview with 14 News on July 24th, Sergeant Jason Cullum with the EPD said, "If you need your scooter to get to and from work, have at it...But if you get into an accident and you caused it, the people that you hit should have the same remedy to get that stuff taken care of as if they had been hit by a car or a truck or something else that does require insurance."

The two city departments are seeking 5,000 signatures for their petition before sending it off to Indianapolis with the hope that state lawmakers will consider debating the issue in the next legislative session. The issue already has the support of local State Representatives Ron Bacon and Gail Riecken, as well as State Senator Vaneta Becker.

Evansville residents looking to add their signature can do so during the National Night Out at Wesselman Park on Tuesday, August 6th, or online anytime at change.org.