PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (AP) — One of Florida’s most popular spring break towns is cracking down on one of the most touristy things to do there — taking a breezy ride on a rented scooter.
Panama City Beach recently tightened its regulations this summer, citing an almost 80 percent jump in accidents this year.
Law enforcement and safety experts say the increasing popularity of rental scooters and mopeds is dangerous.
“Maybe 20 years back, we had our first scooter rental company out here and there were maybe 100 scooters,” said Panama City Beach Police Chief Drew Whitman. “Now we’ve got 1,000 scooters. It’s grown as more and more kids come down here.”
Local leaders recently began requiring rental companies to carry liability insurance, provide riders with neon safety vests and give them safety brochures. City leaders call the new requirements a first step in their overall effort to make the busy beach town safer, especially during spring seasons when thousands of teens converge on the town.
The latest scooter-related death happened late on Oct. 22 when 56-year-old Michael Nicholas Coutu of Panama City Beach pulled in front of a vehicle while riding a scooter on a busy beach road, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Scooter rentals in the busy tourist town of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, have ballooned in the past decade, said Capt. David Knipes, a police spokesman. And so have scooter-related accidents - including a 113 percent jump so far this year, he said. Of the city’s 49 rental scooter-related accidents this year, 46 were caused by the scooter driver, Capt. Knipes said.
Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia have recently considered toughening scooter and moped regulations, but Panama City leaders say a strong motorcycle lobby and Republican-dominated legislature mean Florida lawmakers are unlikely to take up statewide rules.
Rick Roof, owner of California Cycles, the largest scooter rental company on Panama City Beach, called the city’s new regulations an unnecessary part of an ongoing effort to clean up the area’s spring break party image to attract higher-end tourism.
“We have not yet in 28 years had anyone die on one of our scooters,” Mr. Roof said.
Scooters are especially dangerous in vacation towns with first-time riders who don’t know the local traffic patterns sharing the road with cars and SUVs also filled with confused tourists, said Fort Lauderdale-based motorcycle safety instructor Dale Hoddy. Renters also frequently wear flip flops, shorts, swimsuits or other inappropriate riding gear, he said.
The fight over scooters in Panama City Beach has been brewing for two decades and came to a head this year.
Mr. Roof said the vests aren’t popular with the younger tourists who rent his bikes and that the insurance is difficult to obtain and hard to keep.
First-time scooter rider Ciera Wood and her friends from Columbus, Ohio, cruised Panama City Beach on a recent Saturday.
“I’ve always been scared of motorcycles and stuff but this is nice, it’s fun,” she said. “Especially in Florida, it’s so hot and catching the breeze is nice.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.