Moped bill headed to Gov. Haley’s desk for final approval

COLUMBIA, SC Moped drivers could soon be required to register with the Department of Motor Vehicles and follow the same traffic rules as all other vehicles.

The proposal, which lawmakers sent to Gov. Nikki Haley for final approval, also would require mopeds to stay off roads with speed limits higher than 55 miles per hour, raise the minimum age of moped drivers to 15 from 14 and mandate drivers and passengers younger than 21 wear a helmet.

But the bill was passed without the stipulation that moped drivers carry insurance. Senators stripped that requirement earlier this week, saying it would have doomed the bill.

“The insurance is important,” said state Sen. Greg Hembree, R-Horry, who for years has pushed to regulate mopeds. “It’s something that I think is necessary, but it’s just too tough a nut to crack at this late stage.”

House members on Thursday voted to accept the Senate’s changes. More than a dozen moped-related bills were filed in this legislative session, though some of those measures also appeared in H 3440.

Hembree said the bill’s most important feature might be that it gives mopeds a single definition under state law.

“We had three different definitions, which made any law involving mopeds virtually unenforceable,” he said.

This story was originally published June 2, 2016 at 4:06 PM with the headline "Moped bill headed to Gov. Haley’s desk for final approval."