South Carolina House Places More Restrictions On Mopeds

An S.C. House bill making it illegal to operate mopeds on U.S. 501 and other high-speed roads is now in the hands of Senate.

House Bill 3440 passed by a close 67-41 vote last week. It is now in the hands of the Senate, which gave it a routine first reading before referring the measure to the Senate Transportation Committee.

H. 3440 is the strictest moped bill to pass either house of the legislature to date.

Introduced by Rep. Bill Crosby, R-Charleston, and cosponsored by three lawmakers, including Rep. Alan Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach, the bill restricts mopeds to roads where the speed limit is 35 mph or less.

State law only prohibits mopeds from operating on limited access highways, such as interstates and expressways, said Lance Cpl. Sonny Collins, a spokesman with the S.C. Highway Patrol.

Aside from S.C. 31 and S.C. 22, mopeds currently can be legally operated on any public road in Horry County, Collins said.

According to the bill, moped operators must also have driver's licenses, registration and liability insurance. Persons whose driver's license is suspended would be prohibited from operating a moped.

Both measures close a loophole that allows persons convicted of DUI to operate a moped.

The bill also closes a loophole that allows moped operators to evade DUI prosecution when they operate a moped while under the influence.

H. 3440 is separate from H. 3142, which requires moped occupants to wear yellow reflective vests and for mopeds to be equipped with a blinking tail light that must be in operation when the moped is moving.

Rep. Mike Ryhal, R-Carolina Forest, is the lead sponsor of that bill, which has passed the House and is also in the hands of the Senate.

The City of Myrtle Beach is looking at additional moped regulations, said Mayor John Rhodes.

Myrtle Beach's plan, which is still in the ordinance-writing phase, would place additional regulations on the various moped rental businesses that operate within the city limits.

Rhodes said the goal is to ensure businesses are following all safety regulations when renting mopeds. Details are still being worked out, the mayor said.

"People are concerned about the safety of them. Just the other night we had someone killed on U.S. 501," Rhodes said. "My thing is they don't need to be on a road where you have people running 50 or 55 mph."

A moped occupant died Monday in a motor vehicle collision with a Lexus that happened on U.S. 501 near Carolina Forest.

Brandi Lee Haines, 35, of Myrtle Beach, died at the scene from injuries suffered in the accident, according to the Horry County Coroner's Office.

A 32-year-old male driving the Lexus was charged with failure to yield the right of way, Collins with the Highway Patrol said.

Lance Cpl. Sonny Collins said a moped carrying two people was traveling south on U.S. 501 when a 2002 Lexus four-door tried to cross U.S. 501.

Collins said Tuesday that troopers still do not know whether the driver or the passenger of the moped was killed.