In the ongoing effort to maintain public safety on our roadways, Boston police said Monday they confiscated 10 moped/scooters for motor-vehicle law violations, thanks to “Operation Safe Scooter.”
As reported by the Boston Herald, this coordinated operation, which took place around 4 p.m., was in response to “ongoing public safety concerns regarding the use of these vehicles” on Shirley Street in Roxbury, according to the department.
“The Boston Police Department remains committed to improving traffic safety and will continue to conduct enforcement operations across the city,” the department said in a statement.
Boston police urged anyone with information about illegal activity related to scooters and mopeds to inform authorities.
This roundup of illegally operating mopeds and scooters marked just the latest attempt by BPD to rein these mobile scofflaws.
Other police departments and law-enforcement agencies have also taken steps to crack down on these two-wheeled threats.
In the Merrimack Valley, the hub of this illegal activity centers around Lowell, where police frequently receive calls about large groups of dirt bikers taking over city roadways. This activity continues to thrive despite the best efforts of local law enforcement to contain it. Dracut has also had its share of dirt bike complaints and both Lowell and Fitchburg are popular with speedy e-bike riders.
In Lowell’s case, the tipping point with dirt bikers occurred in the summer of 2022.
In June of that year, Lowell police disclosed that over the previous several months, officers had experienced an increase in dirt bikes and motorcycles driven recklessly throughout the city — on sidewalks, stopping traffic, unsafely passing cars and “popping wheelies.”
A few weeks later, in an effort to get a handle on this problem, several area police departments — including Lowell, Lawrence, Andover, Chelmsford, Dracut, Methuen, Tewksbury and Tyngsboro — announced the formation of the Merrimack Valley Reckless Bikers Task Force.
This group’s main efforts focused on apprehending those dirt bikers and ATV operators illegally using public roads, operating to endanger, weaving unsafely through traffic, riding on sidewalks and impeding traffic.
Since then, like the Boston police, LPD has launched several crackdowns on these illegal operators, as part of that task force or with other law-enforcement partners.
Nevertheless, reckless bikers continued to put pedestrians and themselves at risk.
Over a span of five days in June 2024, emergency crews in Lowell had to respond to two serious moped crashes, both resulting in the operators being flown by medical helicopter to Boston for treatment.
Last June, Lowell police, with assistance from the Massachusetts State Police, Massachusetts State Police Air Wing, and Massachusetts Environmental Police, targeted the unlawful and reckless operation of motorcycles, dirt bikes, off-highway vehicles and mopeds on public roadways.
This enforcement effort grew out of ongoing community concerns about reckless and illegal vehicle activity endangering pedestrians, motorists, and neighborhood safety throughout the city.
The operation yielded significant results, including five arrests, nine criminal summonses, 24 traffic citations and the removal of 20 vehicles from circulation.
“Let this operation be a clear message: this conduct will not be tolerated. We will continue the work we do daily, as well as these types of operations, to address this serious issue to ensure our roadways remain safe and orderly for all,” Lowell Police Superintendent Greg Hudon said at the time.
Despite these isolated successes, the gray area around the legality of these scooters/mopeds/dirt bikes — plus their proliferation — have hamstrung police efforts to control their activity.
That may soon change due to legislation that aims to regulate bikers’ behavior and the vehicles they ride.
That Boston operation occurred on the same day that Gov. Maura Healey filed a bill to govern e-bike, scooters and mopeds, known collectively as “micro-mobility devices.”
A statement from Healey’s office said that the law would create a “first-in-the-nation, speed-based framework,” which provides clear, enforceable safety standards to prevent injuries and crashes.
They include minimum age requirements for operating certain e-bikes and scooters, requiring riders of higher-speed devices to be at least 16, helmet requirements for specific device categories, including requirements for riders under 16, and mandatory safety equipment, such as lights, reflectors, and braking systems, to improve visibility and reduce collisions.
The bill’s language contains consistent enforcement authority, ensuring officers can apply uniform rules and penalties to unsafe behavior across device types.
Drivers of the faster mopeds, e-bikes and scooters would also be required to purchase insurance and register their vehicle.
The law would also set more restrictions on where higher-speed devices could operate and give the Registry of Motor Vehicles more control to regulate new technologies without waiting for legislation to pass on Beacon Hill.
“Micro-mobility is already a part of how people get to work, school and around their communities, but right now, the rules are unclear and inconsistent,” Healey said in a statement.
“We are seeing too much reckless behavior, more crashes and close calls, and too many people, especially pedestrians and young riders, are at risk.”
The bill would fill a legal void that has prevented authorities from identifying offenders through the RMV or other official channels.
More importantly, it would put an end to the anything-goes environment that has enabled this reckless behavior.
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