2023 New York Laws › VAT - Vehicle and Traffic › Title 7 - Rules of the Road › Article 34-D - Operation of Electric Scooters › 1282 - Operating Electric Scooters.

§  1282.  Operating electric scooters. 1. No electric scooter shall be
used to carry more than one person at one time. No person  operating  an
electric  scooter  shall  carry  any  person  as  a  passenger in a pack
fastened to the operator  or  fastened  to  the  electric  scooter.  The
failure  of any person to comply with the provisions of this subdivision
shall not constitute contributory negligence or assumption of risk,  and
shall  not  in any way bar, preclude or foreclose an action for personal
injury or wrongful death by or on behalf of such person, nor in any  way
diminish or reduce the damages recoverable in any such action.
2.  No  person  operating an electric scooter shall carry any package,
bundle or article which prevents the operator from keeping at least  one
hand  upon  the  handle bars or which obstructs his or her vision in any
direction.
3. Every person operating an electric scooter shall yield the right of
way to pedestrians.
4. No person less than sixteen years of age shall operate or ride as a
passenger upon an electric scooter, and no person sixteen years  of  age
or  older  shall  allow  any  person  less  than sixteen years of age to
operate or ride as a passenger upon such scooter.
5. Except as may be otherwise provided by local law, ordinance, order,
rule or regulation enacted or promulgated pursuant to this  article,  an
electric  scooter  may  only be operated on highways with a posted speed
limit of thirty miles per hour or less, including non-interstate  public
highways,  private  roads  open to motor vehicle traffic, and designated
bicycle or in-line skate lanes.
6. No person shall operate an electric scooter in  excess  of  fifteen
miles per hour.
7.  (a)  No  person  shall  operate an electric scooter on a sidewalk,
except as may be authorized by a local law or  ordinance  adopted  by  a
city,  town  or village having jurisdiction over such sidewalk including
parking on certain sidewalks  within  such  city,  town  or  village  in
compliance  with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as
amended (Public Law 101-336).
(b)  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  paragraph   (a)   of   this
subdivision,  an  electric  scooter  owned by a natural person where the
owner is engaged in personal use may park on a sidewalk whether attended
or unattended, provided however that no person shall  park  an  electric
scooter  pursuant to this paragraph in a manner that interferes with the
free passage of pedestrians on a  sidewalk.  A  city,  town  or  village
having  jurisdiction  over such sidewalk shall provide a method by which
an electric scooter owned by a natural person may be identified as such.
8. (a) No person shall operate an electric scooter on any public lands
or property, other than a highway  exclusive  of  any  greenway  running
adjacent to or connected with a highway, except that an electric scooter
may  be  operated on any such lands that have been designated and posted
for travel by electric scooters in accordance  with  the  provisions  of
paragraph (b) of this subdivision. For the purposes of this subdivision,
the  term "greenway" shall have the same meaning as such term is defined
by  subdivision  seven  of  section   44-0103   of   the   environmental
conservation  law  and  subdivision  one  of section 39.03 of the parks,
recreation and historic preservation law.
(b) A state agency, by regulation  or  order,  and  a  city,  town  or
village, by local law or ordinance, may designate any appropriate public
lands  and  properties  under  its  jurisdiction,  other  than  highways
exclusive of any greenway  running  adjacent  to  or  connected  with  a
highway,  as  a  place open for travel by electric scooters upon written
request for such designation by any person, and may impose  restrictions
and  conditions  for  the  regulation  and  safe  operation  of electric

scooters on such public lands or property, such as travel on  designated
trails and hours of operation.
9.  (a)  No  person,  firm,  association or corporation engaged in the
business of selling or leasing electric scooters shall sell or lease any
electric scooter on or after June first, two thousand twenty-two  unless
such  electric  scooter  has permanently affixed thereto, in a prominent
location, a manufacturer's  label  which  shall  include  the  following
information: the maximum motor-assisted speed, the number of persons for
which  such electric scooter is designed and equipped, and motor wattage
of such electric scooter. Manufacturers  and  distributors  of  electric
scooters  shall,  by  April  first, two thousand twenty-two, establish a
process by which an owner of an electric scooter may request and  obtain
a  manufacturer's  label providing the maximum motor-assisted speed, the
number of persons for  which  such  electric  scooter  is  designed  and
equipped,  and  motor  wattage applicable to his or her electric scooter
purchased prior to June first, two thousand twenty-two and  installation
instructions from such manufacturers and distributors.
(b)  No person shall operate an electric scooter on any public highway
or street in this state after June first, two thousand twenty-two unless
such electric scooter has permanently affixed thereto,  in  a  prominent
location,  a  manufacturer's  label providing the maximum motor-assisted
speed, the number of persons for which such electric scooter is designed
and equipped, and motor wattage of such electric scooter. Any person who
violates the provisions of this paragraph shall be punished by  a  civil
fine  of up to fifty dollars. The court shall waive any fine for which a
person who violates the provisions of this paragraph would be liable  if
such  person  supplies  the  court  with proof that, between the date on
which he or she is charged with having violated this paragraph  and  the
appearance  date  for such violation, a manufacturer's label was affixed
to his or her electric scooter as required by this paragraph.  Provided,
however,  that  such  waiver  of  fine  shall  not  apply to a second or
subsequent conviction under this paragraph.
10. (a) The governing body of any city, town or village may, by  local
law, ordinance, order, rule or regulation, authorize and regulate shared
electric  scooter  systems  within  such  city, town or village. No such
shared systems shall operate within a city, town or  village  except  as
authorized  by  such local law, ordinance, order, rule or regulation. No
such shared electric scooter system shall operate on public highways  in
a  county  with  a  population  of no less than one million five hundred
eighty-five  thousand  and  no  more  than  one  million  five   hundred
eighty-seven  thousand  as of the two thousand ten decennial census. For
the purposes of this  subdivision,  the  term  shared  electric  scooter
system  shall  mean  a  network  of  self-service and publicly available
electric scooters, and related  infrastructure,  in  which  an  electric
scooter trip begins and/or ends on any public highway.
(b)  Notwithstanding  any  other provision of law to the contrary, all
trip data, personal information,  images,  videos,  and  other  recorded
images  collected  by  any  shared  electric  scooter  system  which  is
authorized to operate within a city, town or village  pursuant  to  this
section:  (i)  shall  be  for  the exclusive use of such shared electric
scooter system and shall not be  sold,  distributed  or  otherwise  made
available  for any commercial purpose and (ii) shall not be disclosed or
otherwise made accessible except: (1) to the person who is  the  subject
of  such data, information or record; or (2) if necessary to comply with
a lawful court order, judicial  warrant  signed  by  a  judge  appointed
pursuant  to  article III of the United States constitution, or subpoena
for individual data, information or records properly issued pursuant  to
the  criminal  procedure  law  or  the  civil  practice  law  and rules.

Provided, however, that nothing contained in  this  paragraph  shall  be
deemed  to  preclude  the exchange of such data, information or recorded
images solely for the purpose of administering  such  authorized  shared
system.
For  the  purposes  of  this subdivision, "personal information" shall
mean information  that  identifies  an  individual,  including  but  not
limited  to  name,  address,  telephone number, and the type and form of
payment including credit  card  number,  debit  card  number,  or  other
payment method.
11.  A  violation  of  the  provisions of subdivision one, two, three,
four, six, or seven of this section shall result in a civil fine not  to
exceed fifty dollars.
12.  A  police  officer  shall only issue a summons for a violation of
this section by a person less than sixteen years of age to the parent or
guardian of such person if the violation by such person  occurs  in  the
presence  of  such  person's parent or guardian and where such parent or
guardian is eighteen years of age or more. Such summons  shall  only  be
issued to such parent or guardian, and shall not be issued to the person
less than sixteen years of age.