Post by 2amAnger on Jun 19, 2004 7:32:31 GMT -8
Not for street use
www.sgvtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,205~12220~2222076,00.html
Pocket bikes declared illegal
By Lafayette C. Hight Jr. , Staff Writer
It took Ramiro Pinedo fewer than 48 hours to realize he had wasted $425.
Sitting astride his pocket bike, which at under 24 inches tall is only slightly larger than something a modern-day Gulliver might have brought back from Lilliput, Pinedo reacted to information El Monte police officers gave him about his new set of wheels:
Illegal on public streets.
"It's only good if you have a long driveway,' Pinedo said. "You can't even take it out.'
For decades, the 32-year-old has been a motorcycle rider - the full-sized variety - and bought the mini version because of its increasing popularity.
"I like the style,' he said. "I see kids with it.'
And it's the growing popularity of these bikes, and their use on city streets, that has led police to set their own guidelines, which sometime vary from city to city for dealing with them.
Some treated them as legal.
Others didn't.
But earlier this month the California Highway Patrol alerted California law enforcement agencies that the bikes, some of which can attain speeds upward of 60 miles per hour , do not fall into the motor vehicle category.
"All vehicles that are considered to be street- legal by their manufacturers contain a 17-digit identification number,' said Steve Kohler, CHP spokesman.
Pocket bikes have no such number.
In addition, there are more than a dozen tire, mirror, horn, braking system, helmet, lighting and engine size specifications that must be in place. The omission of an identification number, and any of those additional items, means these motor-driven vehicles cannot be licensed or registered by the Department of Motor Vehicles. Therefore, whether gasoline- powered or electric, they are not street legal, cannot be ridden on sidewalks, or anywhere except for private property.
"It's a situation where we are very deeply concerned about safety,' Kohler said . "If you think about a mini motorcycle or a pocket bike ... mixing into cars and buses and vans and cement trucks on a roadway, it's a pretty scary situation.'
While the vehicle code allows for the vehicle to be impounded - El Monte has hauled in more than a dozen, and assesses a $120 release fee, a $125 tow company fee plus a $25- per- day impound fee after the second day officers allowed Pinedo to call his girlfriend to pick up both him and bike. As he waited, he said that he would most likely throw away or sell the pocket bike.
Elsewhere in the Valley, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies in the San Dimas station haven't yet received the new guidelines. They treat the pocket bikes as motorcycles, while officials in West Covina are beginning to adapt to the change.
It's unnerving to share the road with the mini motorcycles, said 20-year La Verne resident Janice Baxter.
"What worries us is that they drive full- on out, they don't stop at stop signs and it's very scary for us in a neighborhood,' Baxter said. 'You're always afraid that you're going to hit someone.'
El Monte police began confiscating pocket bikes shortly after May 20 when a juvenile was killed after colliding with a mid-1980s Ford Ranger.
"The height of the motorcycle is the same as the front lights and grille on the vehicle,' said El Monte Police Officer Gary Gall, who was present at the scene of that collision. "Think of how small you are riding that motorcycle (a couple) of feet off the ground.'
Officer Alex Martinez has developed a campaign he and other officers will take to district schools beginning June 30. The program includes a photograph of himself taken from the perspective of a pocket bike rider.
"I've got on an orange cap and you can't even see it,' Martinez said.
Some question whether buyers are informed about the legality of these mini motorcycles, but notices posted at the Mini Moto's Super Store in Glendora state the bikes are, in fact, illegal on public streets. Manager Kevin Holmes said it hasn't seemed to dissuade buyers. The store sells about 200 bikes a month.
"It's one of these fads,' Holmes said. "It's popular because the prices are reasonable and affordable.'
Holmes, a professional dirt bike racer, said the pocket versions became popular in Europe about 20 years ago and are ridden in the professional circuit. He has seen 5- year-olds race without problems.
Because he himself is a rider, he said he makes sure to tell customers to buy helmets for all of the scooters, pocket bikes and other items.
"That's actually the thing I push the most,' Holmes said . "The helmet is definitely the No. 1 thing.'
Still, it's up to parents to make the tough decisions, said CHP's Kohler.
"Would you put your kid on one of these and let them drive it on the road?'Kohler asked . "I wouldn't. It wouldn't seem safe and that's the bottom line.'
-- Lafayette C. Hight Jr. can be reached at (626) 962-8811, ext. 2764, or by e- mail at lafayette.hight@sgvn.com
www.sgvtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,205~12220~2222076,00.html
Pocket bikes declared illegal
By Lafayette C. Hight Jr. , Staff Writer
It took Ramiro Pinedo fewer than 48 hours to realize he had wasted $425.
Sitting astride his pocket bike, which at under 24 inches tall is only slightly larger than something a modern-day Gulliver might have brought back from Lilliput, Pinedo reacted to information El Monte police officers gave him about his new set of wheels:
Illegal on public streets.
"It's only good if you have a long driveway,' Pinedo said. "You can't even take it out.'
For decades, the 32-year-old has been a motorcycle rider - the full-sized variety - and bought the mini version because of its increasing popularity.
"I like the style,' he said. "I see kids with it.'
And it's the growing popularity of these bikes, and their use on city streets, that has led police to set their own guidelines, which sometime vary from city to city for dealing with them.
Some treated them as legal.
Others didn't.
But earlier this month the California Highway Patrol alerted California law enforcement agencies that the bikes, some of which can attain speeds upward of 60 miles per hour , do not fall into the motor vehicle category.
"All vehicles that are considered to be street- legal by their manufacturers contain a 17-digit identification number,' said Steve Kohler, CHP spokesman.
Pocket bikes have no such number.
In addition, there are more than a dozen tire, mirror, horn, braking system, helmet, lighting and engine size specifications that must be in place. The omission of an identification number, and any of those additional items, means these motor-driven vehicles cannot be licensed or registered by the Department of Motor Vehicles. Therefore, whether gasoline- powered or electric, they are not street legal, cannot be ridden on sidewalks, or anywhere except for private property.
"It's a situation where we are very deeply concerned about safety,' Kohler said . "If you think about a mini motorcycle or a pocket bike ... mixing into cars and buses and vans and cement trucks on a roadway, it's a pretty scary situation.'
While the vehicle code allows for the vehicle to be impounded - El Monte has hauled in more than a dozen, and assesses a $120 release fee, a $125 tow company fee plus a $25- per- day impound fee after the second day officers allowed Pinedo to call his girlfriend to pick up both him and bike. As he waited, he said that he would most likely throw away or sell the pocket bike.
Elsewhere in the Valley, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies in the San Dimas station haven't yet received the new guidelines. They treat the pocket bikes as motorcycles, while officials in West Covina are beginning to adapt to the change.
It's unnerving to share the road with the mini motorcycles, said 20-year La Verne resident Janice Baxter.
"What worries us is that they drive full- on out, they don't stop at stop signs and it's very scary for us in a neighborhood,' Baxter said. 'You're always afraid that you're going to hit someone.'
El Monte police began confiscating pocket bikes shortly after May 20 when a juvenile was killed after colliding with a mid-1980s Ford Ranger.
"The height of the motorcycle is the same as the front lights and grille on the vehicle,' said El Monte Police Officer Gary Gall, who was present at the scene of that collision. "Think of how small you are riding that motorcycle (a couple) of feet off the ground.'
Officer Alex Martinez has developed a campaign he and other officers will take to district schools beginning June 30. The program includes a photograph of himself taken from the perspective of a pocket bike rider.
"I've got on an orange cap and you can't even see it,' Martinez said.
Some question whether buyers are informed about the legality of these mini motorcycles, but notices posted at the Mini Moto's Super Store in Glendora state the bikes are, in fact, illegal on public streets. Manager Kevin Holmes said it hasn't seemed to dissuade buyers. The store sells about 200 bikes a month.
"It's one of these fads,' Holmes said. "It's popular because the prices are reasonable and affordable.'
Holmes, a professional dirt bike racer, said the pocket versions became popular in Europe about 20 years ago and are ridden in the professional circuit. He has seen 5- year-olds race without problems.
Because he himself is a rider, he said he makes sure to tell customers to buy helmets for all of the scooters, pocket bikes and other items.
"That's actually the thing I push the most,' Holmes said . "The helmet is definitely the No. 1 thing.'
Still, it's up to parents to make the tough decisions, said CHP's Kohler.
"Would you put your kid on one of these and let them drive it on the road?'Kohler asked . "I wouldn't. It wouldn't seem safe and that's the bottom line.'
-- Lafayette C. Hight Jr. can be reached at (626) 962-8811, ext. 2764, or by e- mail at lafayette.hight@sgvn.com