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After several incidents that have exposed the indiscriminate use of so-called “scooters” or monocletas in areas where traffic is prohibited, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution to investigate the proliferation of rental businesses of this type of vehicle and look for alternatives for its regulation.
“We don’t understand how, in many tourist areas of Puerto Rico, we can observe the use of these vehicles on public roads.”, Read the explanatory memorandum to Senate Resolution 86, authored by Senator Nitza Morán Trinitat.
The most recent incident transpired on Sunday, where a video circulating on social media shows a woman riding a “scooter” on Avenida Baldorioty de Castro, in San Juan, a road in which the use of the monocletas is prohibited, as defined in the “Law of Vehicles and Transit” (Law 22-2000).
“We all saw the images of a tourist, apparently, who was encouraged and launched not on the sidewalk or in the street but in the Baldorioty de Castro and we saw them pass by the Minillas bridge, which means that it is already have become virtually motor vehicles on public roads “, Exposed the senator for St. John, Henry Neumann.
The measure emphasizes that, although the “Vehicle and Traffic Law of Puerto Rico” allows municipalities to regulate certain uses of streets and public thoroughfares under their jurisdiction, the Act emphasizes the fact that those who autocycles or scooters refers, these “may not travel on highways, state roads or other public roads, state or municipal, which are paved.”
The alternate spokesman for the New Progressive Party (PNP), Carmelo Ríos, reaffirmed the need to regulate this type of transport. He added that over 100 cities in the United States are working with similar situations. “There are certainly some barriers to interstate trade and development that we will not be able to stop, but if we can regulate it to safeguard the safety of passers-by,” he said.
He added that these “scooters” are introduced to the market to replace the use of motor vehicles in urban areas and are aimed at young people between 18 and 35 years, as well as people who do not use means of transport. service like Uber and Lyft.
Among the alternatives to regulate this practice could be to limit its use to areas where there is a need for transportation due to lack of parking. “I think we need to move pretty fast,” Rius expressed.
Currently, Article 10.16 of the said statute states that anyone traveling on a “scooter” on a public road, whether state or municipal, will commit a less serious crime and will be punished with a fine of $ 1,000 which could increase at $ 5,000 if reckless negligence or recklessness intervened.
The senator for the Citizen Victory Movement (MVC), Rafael Bernabe, has indicated that, although he favors the investigation of the use of these new forms of mobility, it should not be done based on the premise of their illegality or with a mentality of seeing “how aturem “. “Research should aim to examine and study these new forms of mobility with an open mind to see if they need to be banned or changes to existing regulations,” he noted.