Moped law change? Can someone confirm.

[t3mp0r4ry nzr]

Hi all, I have heard a rumour that the moped law has changed resulting in the abolution of the 2kw restriction. Can anyone confirm this?

[Beemer]

I haven't heard anything but your best bet would be to ring Land Transport NZ as they should have the latest information on any law changes. Or possibly the AA or post shops - but LTNZ would be the safest one.

[Ixion]

A little bird has whispered that the Ministry are working on proposals to eliminate the "ride a moped on a car learners" loophole.

The approach *may* take the form of simply abolishing the moped class. So any two wheeled motorised vehicles classifies as a motorcycle . Which would , of course, in effect remove the 2KW limit. You didn't hear it from me. But this is perhaps not what you were hoping for. It is improbable that the rules would be changed to extend the present moped regime to any 50cc machine. Still, who knows.

[Nutter34]

That would suck... So many Street Magics would suddenly go to waste...

I can see why they'd love to get rid of mopeds though, think of the money...

If that's the case, there really would be NO incentive for people to try a scooter as a cheap form of transport and reduce congestion.

[sunhuntin]

reduce congestion? hell, i went to the mall the other day. theres a bike park at the top a little bigger than a car park. i had to park on the very edge cos the whole space was taken up by a grand total of two 50cc! one parked normal, the other parked lengthways.

[WarlockNZ]

I'm sorry, but i've said it before and i've said it again .. "fuck em".

and now to clarify .. LOL .. in my personal opinion, if you want to ride a bike(and yes .. i know most of us don't think that scooters are "real" bikes), you should have to have a license to ride one.

I've lost count of the number of times i've nearly hit a scooter/moped rider.

Am I going too fast ?? .. no! ... i put it down to the fact that the motorcycle road code focus's on rider safety and survival and if you don't have to go through the motorcycle licensing process, you don't get a good understanding of this...

Damn i could just go on for hours about this ... sandal wearing, going to die when they come off, cutting me off ... you get the idea ... scooter/moped riders.

[Nutter34]

I don't have any issues with making them bike license only. What would suck big time is if they made them full rego price, which isn't a big leap to take, from a no moped law...

[WarlockNZ]

What would suck big time is if they made them full rego price, which isn't a big leap to take, from a no moped law...

yes .... that would suck ... still ... if you had to go through the hassle of getting a bike license, would anyone actually bother buying a scooter???.

I do see two sides to the argument.

[Nutter34]

It's a very cheap and convenient form of transport. I use mine for work and for getting into Nelson. There's no parking issues, since there are usually heaps more open bike parking than cars. I also don't have to pay for said parking...

Why use it for work? Because I don't live that far from work and to start my Z and ride down the road, without having enough time/distance for it to get to proper operating temperature, isn't exactly my idea of good ownership. The scooter however, it's there as a hack, a fun hack, mind you...

[WarlockNZ]

I do see this turning into a huge debate.

As of right now ... it's not law (checked the ltsa site).. but i haven't been able to find anything on a proposed law change.

Can anyone confirm that this is a bill or even the thought of a bill before parliament ?

[Nutter34]

Nothing wrong with debating...

I fully agree that there are a lot of teens and other people riding around without a clue, so maybe by making it bike license would help for education...

[Ixion]

Nope , it's not a Bill. Not got that far. Probably doesn't need a Bill , either, the Minister can do it as a Road Rule (and you thought we disposed of Absolute Monarchy in 1688 , eh ) .

The Ministry are pondering (plotting, the paranoid might say) a raft of changes , to make us all safer. They won't actually annouce anything until it's all ready to go, you don't think the puiblic are going to have any say in the matter do you? The Men from the Ministry know what's best for you.

[WarlockNZ]

and you know what happened the last time the gov. tried to make us all safer don't you.

I know it's off topic .. but who wants to take the minister of transport for a ride along the Auckland motorway?? ... LOL ..

Christ ... I know I do ... then maybe they would understand

[sunhuntin]

understanding of this...

Damn i could just go on for hours about this ... sandal wearing, going to die when they come off, cutting me off ... you get the idea ... scooter/moped riders.

where i work, is less than 5 mins from a main high school. a large number of their students ride scooters. i often watch them buzzing by in their "packs", cutting through rush hour traffic, wearing next to nothing.
the girls are the worst....i always feel like telling them they are hot, but wont be so hot when they do eventually come arsing off.
there is one young girl that comes in sometimes...wearing a huge codura type jacket. the first time she came in, i praised her big time for [even though i wear little in the summer]
never forget the young guy i saw...no hands on the bars, looking downwards, txing.
one girl a while back...she got hit by a bus. i havent seen her in a short sleeve shirt or shorts since. even in hot weather.

but on the flip side...are scooters considered motorbikes? do their accidents get lumped in with ours? do we want these nut cases on 250 bikes, doing the same thing, bringing our name down?

admittedly, there are some kids there that ride 250 bikes, and are awesome riders...very responsible on the road.

[Flatcap]

I've drafted several replies to the above in defence of scooter riders, but I do tend to agree with the rest of you. I get annoyed by the antics on many scooterists and some education is needed

However, as far as I am concerned, safety gear is for the individual. I always wear mine, but if a scooterist is on a shit box jappo plastic fantastic capable of 40kph at the max it will be just like falling off your pushbike in your lycra getup