Drivers of low-speed motor-powered scooters will have a few more regulations to deal with beginning in the New Year.
The new rules will take effect Jan. 1 and will mostly affect scooters with engine sizes of 50 cubic centimeters or less.
Smaller mopeds have been largely unregulated in the past, but starting next month, drivers will have to be aged 15 or older to operate a moped, and owners will need to register their vehicle and buy a license plate from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
People without a driver's license will still be able to ride these scooters, but will be required to carry a state ID card with a special moped endorsement, which they can obtain after taking a test at the BMV.
Josh Gillespie is the Deputy Commissioner of Communications with the BMV. He says the speed limit for mopeds will also be raised to 35 miles per hour, which is consistent with most city speed limit.
"There shouldn't be a lot of trying to get around the slow guy on the moped," he explains.
Gillespie says the new regulations will make the roads safer. He says requiring riders to register their vehicles will also allow the state to keep track of the thousands of scooters on Indiana's roads.
"Many times these vehicles were stolen," he says. "And they were untraceable because they weren't previously registered."
The state police are limiting enforcement to warnings until February to allow drivers time to comply with the new regulations.