Lawmakers ready for another look at moped insurance rules

"We would like to see insurance on them," Rep. Phil Shepard, R-Onslow, said Monday, adding that he and Rep. Rayne Brown, R-Davidson, had been studying the issue since last summer. "We feel like we've got some very good information from hospitals that would say we need insurance on them (mopeds)."

Shepard said that drivers should be covered in case they injure themselves in an accident. As well, he said, requiring moped riders to carry insurance would protect other drivers who might be involved in an accident with mopeds. 

However, Shepard, who was a lead sponsor of last year's measure, says he will push again for an insurance requirement, an idea that apparently has the backing of the DMV, which is poised to make a number of moped-related recommendations to lawmakers on Tuesday, most of which would tighten requirements for riders. 

The main difference between mopeds, which must be tagged but do not require a license to drive, and motorcycles, for which drivers must have a license and insurance as well as plates, has to do with size and engine speed. By law, mopeds are not supposed to go faster than than 30 mph.   

The DMV estimates some 8,000 mopeds are sold in North Carolina annually, according to a legislative analysis published in 2014. Dealers say many of those are sold to people who lost their license due to drunken driving charges – and the DMV is suggesting some of those riders come off the road. 

Of the 105 fatal crashes reported statewide during that same period, alcohol was suspect in 32. That may be why the DMV is recommending that, if a driver has lost his or her license due to an alcohol-related charge, they be prohibited from driving a moped on state roads, just as they would be prohibited from driving a car. 

A DMV spokesperson declined to comment on the recommendations before they are presented to the committee. 

Shepard said he had not looked at a restriction for moped drivers who had seen their licenses for other vehicles revoked. However, he said, the restriction might make sense.

"If you're not safe on the highway in an automobile, what makes you safe on a moped?" he said. 

Such a requirement would no doubt be controversial. Chris Brewer, a motorcycle dealer and president of the North Carolina Motorcycle Dealers Association, said that a variety of people, including students and professionals, purchase mopeds for a number of reasons, including saving money on gas and an affordable purchase price. Some people do buy the small bikes as a way to ensure they can get around after going to court for a DWI, he said.

"They lose their license, and they need something for transportation. They just need something to get back and forth to work on," Brewer said.

He had not heard about the DMV proposal on prohibiting people with suspended or revoked licenses from operating mopeds and said it would have an impact both on moped riders and dealers. 

"I just can't believe they would do that," he said. 

Brewer said that little has changed in the past six months that would make members of his association see an insurance requirement for all moped drivers as necessary. 

"The whole idea of a moped was to be affordable," Brewer said, adding that requiring riders to carry insurance could price them out of the market. 

The oversight committee is scheduled to finalize its report and recommendation to the General Assembly on Tuesday. Lawmakers return to session on Wednesday and are expected to be in session at least until July.