Logansport police seeing fewer mopeds on city streets since new law went into effect

The new law went into effect in January and requires moped drivers to have a driver's license or state ID and to register their mopeds with the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Logansport Police Assistant Chief Mike Morphet said some patrol officers have noticed a decline overall in the number of mopeds being used since the law went into effect.

Officers patrolling the overnight hours "think that people may not be riding them like they were," Morphet said. "I hadn't seen quite as many, but I still see a lot. I've also noticed a lot of them have plates."

The BMV has 183 mopeds registered with Cass County plates, according to BMV spokesman Josh Gillespie. All but three of them have engines of 50 cubic centimeters or less.

Statewide, more than 20,000 mopeds have been registered with the BMV.

Morphet heads the department's patrol division. Patrol officers have told him those license plates usually indicate whether the driver is fully complying with the law.

"Basically the guys are seeing that if they have the plates, they have everything," Morphet said. In many cases, he said, moped drivers are careful to comply with the new regulations because they have had their driving privileges suspended and rely on their moped for transportation.

The regulations created two classifications of motor-driven cycle. Anything with a cylinder capacity exceeding 50 cubic centimeters is considered a Class A cycle. Drivers have to obtain a valid license, proof of insurance and a plate issued by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to affix to their back of their bike.

Those with engines of 50 cubic centimeters or less are Class B cycles. Riders don't need a driver's license but are required to have a valid state ID, issued by the BMV after passing a written test on road rules. Their bikes are required to carry a BMV-issued license plate, but don't require insurance.

Drivers have to be at least 15 years old, too. Those under the age of 18 are required to wear a helmet.

From January through July, four tickets were issued in Cass County for drivers operating a Class B moped without the proper state ID, according to the Cass County Clerk's Office.

Patrol officers told Morphet many who violate the new regulations are young moped drivers.

"A couple of the guys told me they're using it as a teaching time to explain the law, especially to the younger folks," Morphet said. "A lot of times they're making them push them home until they get everything corrected."

However, riders without proper registration risk having their mopeds towed.

Those who do have their mopeds registered also have better information for reporting a moped theft, Morphet said.

"For several years there, we were having quite a rash of thefts, and people hadn't registered them," Morphet said. Often owners had no record of the moped's vehicle identification number or other way to identify the moped if it was found.

"It was kind of a headache for us. That's been eliminated now," Morphet said.