EMS-48 mobility scooter with Challenger mobility scooter trailer added

July 30, 2019 7:36 AM

I purchased a used but in great shape Cozy Trike EMS-48 mobility scooter to get her out of the house (she doesn't drive) and eventually ride it outside of our neighborhood to the store or park. I read on this forum in a post: "Electric vehicles (cars, bikes, golf carts, electric bikes, scooters) are legal on non-arterial roads with a posted speed limit of 35mph or lower. Electric carts (golf) and non-plated electric or motor vehicles are never allowed on arterial roads (streets rated at 40mph and higher).". When I spoke to the local Mundelein, IL police department on the phone they were not clear in understanding this rule or law.

The policeman answered them as if it was a razor scooter for kids saying the scooter should be on the sidewalk (as I could here hesitation in his voice). Since my wife (49) is home a few days with my 5 year old grand daughter (our daughter and her husband and grand daughter live in our house with us) while her mom and dad work, we have a park and playground a couple of blocks away so I bought the challenger mobility scooter "trailer" so my grand daughter could ride with cushions and her bike helmet. It works great but I wanted to know if it is ok/legal to have kids in a scooter trailer (which is basically a crate on large air tires)?

posted by tdg8934 to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (9 answers total)

I recommend contacting your local department of transportation- they will know the law on this better than your local police.
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:42 AM on July 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

And to be clear, your town may have totally different rules than the next town over, so a local source is a must.
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:44 AM on July 30, 2019 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Florida, from personal experience, not that you're there, has some clearcut laws regarding golf carts on non-arterial roads. You have to get them tagged and insured and inspected (if they are converted from non-tagged status).

I'm unclear from your question's wording if you're asking about putting this Cozy Trike on the street itself or on the sidewalks adjacent to the street. Here's my opinion on each,

Street: Probably illegal and unsafe for all but the shortest distances. You'd likely need a tag. The trailer aside is moot if the vehicle itself is unsafe/illegal to operate.

Sidewalk: Probably legal and mostly safe because, well, that's what people use them for. If you're happy with the condition and setup of the crosswalks and thresholds and traffic patterns and distance then I'd say go for it, even with the trailer being dragged behind it. Just use common sense as to the safety of said trailer for A) general use such that a kid doesn't bail out at speed and B) to prevent it from coming loose while in a crosswalk or next to the street. Honestly, I'd view it as little different than pulling a little red wagon or a stroller as long as your wife's condition doesn't keep her from acting/operating it safely, up to and including being able to competently emergency stop all the things in case of a malfunction or danger.
posted by RolandOfEld at 8:56 AM on July 30, 2019

Go for a walk along your proposed route to check for obstacles.

Whether or not it is actually illegal, it ought not to be legal to drive a scooter along a fairly busy street, in the street, with a child in the trailer. I doubt there are any laws about putting a child in the trailer if you're on a sidewalk.

A mobility scooter is not safe in the street. Drivers often can't see you until it's too late. Every year or so we see a newspaper article about a tragedy involving someone who rode their mobility scooter on a busy road because they had no other way to get around.

Sidewalks are fine, if the cuts in the curb are ADA-compliant. Bad curb cuts, sections of sidewalk heaved up by tree roots, etc. can make them impossible. If it's a very quiet residential street it may be reasonably safe to drive the scooter in the street just long enough to get around an obstacle.
posted by chromium at 10:54 AM on July 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

There is a national toll free number at the ADA National Network that will put you through to your local region where you can ask this exact question: [phone].
posted by zenon at 12:37 PM on July 30, 2019

Response by poster: Thanks for the great responses everyone. The trailer has a class I ball type hitch (1-1/4") that there is no way this is going to come loose or apart except perhaps it the bolt snapped which isn't likely. I see people on bikes with kids in tent like trailers behind them all over our suburb neighborhood streets. At some point if my wife needed to go to the store (without our grand daughter) with the trailer she would need to cross a busy street (over 40 MPH) for a short distance to the sidewalk on the other side. For now she is terrified of riding outside of our neighborhood blocks (under 35 MPH) - where she takes the electric scooter slower probably 10 MPH but I've had it up to 25 MPH and a bit higher even though it is supposed to be a 0-20 MPH electric scooter as advertised. All in all she will remain on sidewalks and currently doesn't like idea of pulling a small trailer behind. I'm trying to help her get out of the house and break some of these fears with confidence to gain. Perhaps one day she'll even get her driver's license but for now we'll start with the electric scooter going slower and build up her abilities and confidence. Thanks again everyone!
posted by tdg8934 at 8:21 AM on July 31, 2019 [1 favorite]

With those speed limits, I think her concerns are pretty valid! Sticking to sidewalks sounds like a good idea - but in your shoes I'd still check with the local DOT to make sure devices like this are actually allowed on sidewalks. You don't want some bored traffic cop deciding to give her a ticket for it.
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:12 AM on July 31, 2019 [1 favorite]

The trailer will be pretty short relatively speaking. Consider adding a flag to the back to make it more obvious that the scooter is longer than it appears.

I see people on bikes with kids in tent like trailers behind them all over our suburb neighborhood streets.

Note that the kid trailers I've seen all provide some sort of roll over protection and seat belts.
posted by Mitheral at 10:11 AM on July 31, 2019

That's faster than the mobility scooters I'm familiar with. I would not take a child in a trailer behind a scooter going more than 5 miles per hour, myself, even on the sidewalk. I don't think it would be safe. When you hit a bump in a mobility scooter, even at 5 mph, things really get bounced around.

In addition, sidewalks are designed and intended for walking. People should not be going at much faster than walking speed on a sidewalk. It's not fair to the walkers, who are endangered by speeders.
posted by chromium at 11:57 AM on July 31, 2019 [1 favorite]