DOTS issues new regulations for scooters

In the name of pedestrian safety, the Department of Transportation Services and University Police are cracking down on scooter owners by adding new out-of-the-way parking spots while strictly enforcing traffic safety rules.

Scooter violations that have rarely been applied — such as driving on sidewalks or carrying a passenger — could now cost scooter drivers points on their license.

"People riding scooters have to abide by the law just like they would in a car," University Police spokesman Paul Dillon said.

Scooter drivers must also park in spots designated by a brown sign with a motorcycle symbol, according a DOTS press release issued Sept. 4, which means they will be barred from parking on the sidewalk or in bicycle racks. DOTS has added more than 50 new parking spots to the more than 209 already available, most of them at sporting fields and complexes like Chevy Chase Field, Comcast and Kehoe track to serve student athletes. More spaces, including at Mowatt Lane Garage, will be created on South Campus this fall.

Starting in October, if a scooter has received at least three warnings for parking violations, it could be towed. However, students don't have to worry about receiving DOTS parking tickets for scooters, according to Beverly Malone, assistant to the director of DOTS.

Aside from wanting to better serve student athletes, the new spots were necessary because overcrowding on sidewalks posed a hazard, Malone said. For Dillon, the reason for stricter enforcement is more obvious.

"Sidewalks are made pedestrians — streets are made for vehicles," Dillon said. "Scooters are vehicles."

Sophomore kineseology major Ashley Cromartie, who rides her scooter to and from track practice, finds the new spots inconvenient, but realizes the necessity of the rules. 

"It's different from last year, because you could park wherever," said Cromartie. "This is inconvenient because you have to find a spot, but I guess they did it for legitimate reasons. People were being assholes on scooters."

redding@umdbk.com