Essay on Texas Bill: Controlling Electric Scooter Use on Sidewalks

Introduction

The bill that was passed in Texas in the recent past is the need to remove the rented elector scooters from the states sidewalks. The bill was passed on May 1 by the upper chamber, and it was meant to control the use of these electric machines. The riders must now be 16 years old, and the device cannot be driven by more than one person at the same time. This paper aim at looking at the bill that was introduced in the recent past in Texas, the people who will be impacted by the passing of the bill, and the problems that had arisen due to the lack of this bill in the running of the law of the state. There were various motives that led to the introduction of this bill.

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Problem

The problem that made it necessary to have the bill in place is the issues that were being created by having scooters on the sidewalks. In Texas, they would often hit the pedestrians, obstruct the roads after the riders are through with the riding process. Among other factors, these are some of the reasons that have made the legislators to introduce the bill that would help to solve these issues. The problem is widespread, and it is affecting the Texas state at large, and even the legislators have been victims. Sen. Joan Huffman who represents Houston Republican state claims that she has been hit three times by these devices while she is walking in the sidewalks an indication that the problem is prevalent and strict measures need to be undertaken to find a solution (Sundaram, 2019). There are even calls for stricter guidelines to be introduced that will lead to the age limit even getting raised, ensuring that the riders are putting on helmets while ensuring that a criminal or civil penalty will be applied for the parties that fail to comply with the introduced laws. The problem impacts all the people in the Texas community considering that anyone walking in the sidewalks would encounter these devices and experience negative effects that result from the rented scooters being on the streets (Swagtron, 2018). The business for the scooter renters will be adversely affected as some of their customers will be prevented by law from operating the machines lowering their returns. The people who are below the age of 16 years will have to find other ways of commuting for they will no longer manage to rise the scooter. Everyone willing to use the electric scooters will have to make an extra investment for they will be required by law to buy items, such as helmets.

Prior Treatment

Previously, there was no existing law that controlled the way the rented electric scooters were being managed, and anybody could ride them at wish. The scooters could be used by two people at the same time risking their lives, they would be left anywhere in the sidewalks, and they mostly used the streets with people causing accidents after hitting the pedestrians. The riders were not initially required to have the helmets, and no fines were applied for breaking laws for there were no regulations that existed. The government had initially not interested in managing the problem for nothing was being done to control the way the electric scooters were being applied. It took the intervention of state government to introduce laws and regulation with the view of managing sure that there are law and order in this transport industry. Texas has been lenient on the laws governing the management of the eclectic scooters (Bergal, 2018).

Policy Origins

The policy was introduced after the public became concerned about the way that these electric scooters were being used and the problems they were creating in the state among them hitting people on the sidewalks and causing obstructions. The bill was introduced by Sen. Royce West who is Dallas Democrat state and the main motivation for the implementation of the bill was to ensure that there was a need to control the cases of obstruction on the sidewalks and the cases of pedestrians were being hit. There was no international body that made it a requirement for the bill to be introduced. It was the legislators that felt that the need to have the bill onto the floor of the house after experiencing the firsthand problems of the electric scooters. One of the legislators even stated that she had been hit by the electric scooters more than three times and this prompted them to be on the front in ensuring that the rented scooters are controlled.

Conclusion

To sum up, the rented electric scooters have been a problem to the people of Texas, and this can be supported by the fact that the residents complain that these devices have been hitting them on the sidewalks. Additionally, the fact that they have been an obstruction on the sidewalks is clear evidence that their operations need to be managed to ensure that there are law and order in the transport industry.

References

Bergal, J. (2018). Many States Have No Rules For Electric Scooters. That's About To Change. The HuffPost. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/electric-scooters-state-rules_b_5beaeac2e4b00bc3f85dddba

Sundaram, A. (2019). Electric scooters could soon be kicked off Texas sidewalks, if state Senate gets its way. The Texas Tribune. Retrieved from https://www.texastribune.org/2019/05/01/texas-scooters-banned-sidewalks-under-senate-bill/

Swagtron, N. (2018). Are Electric Scooters Legal? Swagtron. Retrieved from https://swagtron.com/news/are-electric-scooters-legal/