What’s worse than getting stuck behind a slow-moving vehicle on Wyoming’s highways? Getting stuck behind a slow-moving electric scooter on Wyoming’s highways.
Cody Campbell was driving on Wyoming Highway 210 to Laramie on Sunday. She passed the Happy Jack Campground at Curt Gowdy State Park when she saw two slow-moving objects ahead.
They were two people riding electric scooters, driving in the right lane of the narrow, twisting mountain road.
“They were right in the middle of the lane,” Campbell said. “The first one was going fairly quickly, but the second one was very slow, swerving in front of the camper in front of us.”
Campbell noted that neither person was wearing protective gear, such as helmets, as they cruised along. One was even wearing sandals.
The speed limit along that stretch of WY 210 is between 45 and 65 mph. The scooters weren’t going that fast.
“I’m guessing they were going 30 mph,” Campbell said. “We slowed down to about 25 mph so we didn't hit them.”
That was a prescient concern given that, once the camper passed the slower scooter, it continued to swerve across the lane in front of Campbell’s vehicle.
With no passing lanes for several miles, Campbell was stuck. She felt powerless to do anything else.
“I was going to yell at him, but my son said no because he didn't want to startle the guy and cause him to crash, and cause us to run him over,” she said. “That would have ruined everybody's day.”
Technically Legal
Riding an electric scooter on a highway might seem like a dangerous decision to many, but is it illegal? In Wyoming, technically not.
The Wyoming Legislature has several statutes about what can and can’t be on the state’s highways. Electric scooters fall under the same rules as bicycles, which means they can legally use the highway.
“There are no actual laws or regulations for electric scooters,” said Aaron Brown with the Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP). “They're placed under the regulations of bicycles, so they are legally allowed to be on the road.”
Cyclists are allowed to use Wyoming’s highways, just like any other road, so long as they follow “the rule of the road,” according to Brown. Many cyclists ride close to or on the shoulder, but they aren’t obligated to do so.
“It’s recommended for cyclists to stick to the side, but legally, they can use the road like any other vehicle,” he said.
Campbell noted that the electric scooters she saw on WY 210 weren’t registered. There’s also no law in Wyoming requiring registration.
“If you have a scooter that gets over 50 CCS, they have to get a registration and insurance at that point,” Brown said. “If it’s electric, it’s probably not going to be anywhere near that.”
And the lack of helmets?
“We have no laws mandating helmets in Wyoming,” he said.
Safety First
Even if scooters are legally allowed on Wyoming’s highways, they could still present a safety issue, Brown said. But that’s just as true for any vehicle.
“The rules of the road are there for people's safety,” he said. “That is the WHP’s number one priority.”
A WHP trooper might see someone riding an electric scooter and decide to pull them over. Seeing anyone on a slow-moving vehicle on a fast-moving highway could present a safety risk to themselves and other drivers.
However, that’s at the discretion of each trooper.
“If there’s a safety concern, we're going to end up doing something like pulling them over and talking to them about the safety concern,” Brown said. “It may not even result in a ticket. But even then, they can still legally use the road again.”
We The People
If someone wants to cruise along a Wyoming highway on an electric scooter, without a helmet or any safety gear, they legally can. Campbell questions whether they legally should.
Electric scooters are still relatively new devices, so the Wyoming Legislature hasn’t addressed their legality. That’d be the only avenue for anything to change.
“Troopers are subject to enforcing the laws,” Brown said. “The laws are set by the Legislature, and the Legislature is voted in by the people of Wyoming. If laws about electric scooters should change or not, it's going to be up to our Legislature and everyday citizens.”
Campbell said she thinks that should change.
“Scooters need to be off the highway,” she said. “I don't even like them in parking lots, but it's safer on the city streets, sidewalks, and parking lots than on a twisty, turny mountain road.”
Campbell’s concern was how gravel on or to the side of the road could cause an electric scooter to lose traction and topple over, just like a bicycle. Also, the fact that they were only traveling around 30 mph on a 65-mph highway was as frustrating as it was concerning.
As long as they’re following the rules of the road, an electric scooter is considered a road-legal vehicle under Wyoming law. Campbell fundamentally disagrees with that.
“That's not a vehicle,” she said. “It's a toy. It's a toy.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
