what are the laws, if any, governing the use of euc’s where u live?

[novazeus]

i was surprised that it seems florida allows ebikes up to 20mph. the ebike has to fall over if not ridden, ie runaway bike. doesn’t address euc’s specifically but fortunately because of florida’s older population, i think, there is compassion for elderly people needing electric assist. this might be the crack in legislation permitting wheels on multi-use paths and/or sidewalks.  a euc is an ebike, right? a one wheel ebike.

http://flbikelaw.org/2016/04/motorized-bikes-on-sidewalks-and-bike-paths/

[novazeus]

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/messenger/hiltons-dale-walker-trying-to-get-electric-unicycles-approved-on-sa-roads-while-national-review-underway/news-story/37033052127ac5c7395fa0feba5fbc8c

[WARPed1701D]

No an EUC is not a eBike. FL law specifically states two wheels. To be an eBike they must be in tandum. Consideration is given to Segways as an EPAMD (with their own specified motor limits etc) but again two wheels is specifically mentioned. In the absence of any one wheel specific law an EUC is considered a motorized vehicle and must be registered (impossible) and insured (also impossible) to be used and most likely must be in the road. As such they are illegal under Florida law unless your city has made specific amendments to their rules for EUCs. There is no grey area. EUCs are simply illegal.

What does this mean? Well in tourism driven St. Pete where Segway tours are common cops don't care and even comment the EUC is cool. They likely have not checked the law closely and see them as a Segway's and therefore legal. The risk of being finied is IMO very small. But, have an accident (your fault or otherwise) involving property damage or god forbid human injury and you are royally screwed. If your 30lb wheel strikes a toddler at 20mph and kills them, even if you were otherwise riding sensibly and the accident was caused by someone else hitting you, you'd likely be put away for manslaughter for operating an illegal device that caused death. Another reason why I'm looking at eBikes. It sucks. 

[fryman]

59 minutes ago, WARPed1701D said:

No an EUC is not a eBike. FL law specifically states two wheels. To be an eBike they must be in tandum. Consideration is given to Segways as an EPAMD (with their own specified motor limits etc) but again two wheels is specifically mentioned. In the absence of any one wheel specific law an EUC is considered a motorized vehicle and must be registered (impossible) and insured (also impossible) to be used and most likely must be in the road. As such they are illegal under Florida law unless your city has made specific amendments to their rules for EUCs. There is no grey area. EUCs are simply illegal.

What does this mean? Well in tourism driven St. Pete where Segway tours are common cops don't care and even comment the EUC is cool. They likely have not checked the law closely and see them as a Segway's and therefore legal. The risk of being finied is IMO very small. But, have an accident (your fault or otherwise) involving property damage or god forbid human injury and you are royally screwed. If your 30lb wheel strikes a toddler at 20mph and kills them, even if you were otherwise riding sensibly and the accident was caused by someone else hitting you, you'd likely be put away for manslaughter for operating an illegal device that caused death. Another reason why I'm looking at eBikes. It sucks. 

Thanks a lot! Debbie downer

[WARPed1701D]

4 minutes ago, fryman said:

Thanks a lot! Debbie downer

I don't like it and we can delude ourselves all we like but the fact is in most places they are illegal and when you ride them you have to accept the concequences that can go with that. Probably no tickets or fines but big trouble in a serious incident.  

[novazeus]

1 hour ago, WARPed1701D said:

No an EUC is not a eBike. FL law specifically states two wheels. To be an eBike they must be in tandum. Consideration is given to Segways as an EPAMD (with their own specified motor limits etc) but again two wheels is specifically mentioned. In the absence of any one wheel specific law an EUC is considered a motorized vehicle and must be registered (impossible) and insured (also impossible) to be used and most likely must be in the road. As such they are illegal under Florida law unless your city has made specific amendments to their rules for EUCs. There is no grey area. EUCs are simply illegal.

What does this mean? Well in tourism driven St. Pete where Segway tours are common cops don't care and even comment the EUC is cool. They likely have not checked the law closely and see them as a Segway's and therefore legal. The risk of being finied is IMO very small. But, have an accident (your fault or otherwise) involving property damage or god forbid human injury and you are royally screwed. If your 30lb wheel strikes a toddler at 20mph and kills them, even if you were otherwise riding sensibly and the accident was caused by someone else hitting you, you'd likely be put away for manslaughter for operating an illegal device that caused death. Another reason why I'm looking at eBikes. It sucks. 

i totally  agree wth u and is why i keep bringing this topic up. i would never ride an euc on public lands until their legality is spelled out and have some insurance that protects me from a lawsuit if somebody got hurt by my euc.

from what i have seen and heard on this forum and elsewhere since my interest in them last year, is, once they become more commonplace, they will be outlawed. 

that’s my prediction, urs might be different. 

that’s why, i’m sure, segway will have two euc’s. s1 ltd to 12.5 mph and the z series made for offroad trails or private property. 

[novazeus]

like i said in another post, beazer, was talking to mea

 about a 55+ 4 story condo project for the ranch here. great location being the backyard of tampa premium outlets, costco and i think every new restaurant under the sun. it would be wonderful if theseold geezers, like alot on this forum(still younger than me) could use eucs to go over the bridge over the creek to all the new stuff tampa has to offer. 

what i’ll have to do, while in the zoning stage, since i’m sure nobody in pasco county government knows what an euc is, is show them an 9bot1s1 all cute and little and try to get them to interpret the florida law to allow the elderly or anybody that uses multiuse lanes permitted use. next is insurance. thanks to this forum, they will be looking at everything i’ve been looking at, and i’m sure there is no up side to allowing euc’s, and be specifically banned in pasco. either way, the future is dim.

i’m not an attorney but i have a fair amount of experience of dealing with the legal system and attorneys. i probably have million dollar attorney education at least.

as soon as a pedestrian gets hurt by a wheel, the dominoes will start falling. all theses counties, cities, states plagiarize each other using municode. it’s cheaper than wasting attorney dollars creating ur own codes and laws.

[dbfrese]

Why not work to get the law changed? We did it in Arizona, and it took less than a year. Start by finding out who your state legislature senator and representatives are. 

https://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/Find

Then make an appointment to talk to them and tell them about the issue. It was possible in Arizona, so why not give it a try? You can use Arizona's modification of the EPAMD (Electric Personal Assistive  Mobility Device) statute in 2017 as an example of what's been done in other states. Basically, we changed the definition of an EPAMD from only including "two nontandem wheels" to read like this:

 A.R.S.  28-101 (24) "Electric personal assistive mobility device" means a self-balancing device with one wheel or two nontandem wheels and an electric propulsion system that limits the maximum speed of the device to fifteen miles per hour or less and that is designed to transport only one person.

Let me know if you are going to pursue this. I can share with you the talking points that I used when meeting with my state senator, as well as in committee hearings. (There is also video in the thread below showing my testimony in one of the committee meetings on the bill that changed the law). Here is a thread describing the process in Arizona:

 

 

[novazeus]

45 minutes ago, dbfrese said:

Why not work to get the law changed? We did it in Arizona, and it took less than a year. Start by finding out who your state legislature senator and representatives are. 

https://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/Find

Then make an appointment to talk to them and tell them about the issue. It was possible in Arizona, so why not give it a try? You can use Arizona's modification of the EPAMD (Electric Personal Assistive  Mobility Device) statute in 2017 as an example of what's been done in other states. Basically, we changed the definition of an EPAMD from only including "two nontandem wheels" to read like this:

 A.R.S.  28-101 (24) "Electric personal assistive mobility device" means a self-balancing device with one wheel or two nontandem wheels and an electric propulsion system that limits the maximum speed of the device to fifteen miles per hour or less and that is designed to transport only one person.

Let me know if you are going to pursue this. I can share with you the talking points that I used when meeting with my state senator, as well as in committee hearings. (There is also video in the thread below showing my testimony in one of the committee meetings on the bill that changed the law). Here is a thread describing the process in Arizona:

 

 

yeah from what i hear, arizona is very similar to florida with them both being very popular to retirees. i think the villages near ocala, fl are number one in the states. so approaching it as getting the elderly of the road, where they are a danger, or putting them on a padded euc, where will they do less damage. if u know the statute governing eucs in az pls post it. save me from finding it. be easier to get florida to copy it. @Jason McNeil has got more skin in the game than me, and probably a better lobbyist than me and Bob. they love Bob and hate me, the feelings are mutual all the way around.

my location is perfect for this experiment. just google earth 1640 cypress creek rd, lutz fl 33559, and u can see the containers and one of them i’m sweating n now. google earth aerial imagery can’t keep up with all the new stuff being built on the old north part of the ranch. u could live here as a retiree or work at home and never need an automobile and never have to be on a road with cagers.

sorry, duh, didn’t see the statute, nevermind.

[novazeus]

yup, segway9bot1s1 ans s2 fits that law perfectly. having segway on ur side will definitely help.

[novazeus]

and with that statute, if operating a legal euc, if u did injure somebody, a homeowners umbrella policy would probably cover u. if ur riding a “monster” on a shared path and u hurt somebody, ur probably going to jail, without passing go or $200. 

[Circuitmage]

Lol