Scooting Across State Lines

Odometer: 128 miles

Sorry for the long break from blogging: three weeks out of town has meant no scooting or writing. I was away on a combination of work and vacation, traveling to San Francisco and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Both places are excellent places for scooter riding! San Franciscans have clearly harnessed the idea, because I must have seen three or four dozen scooters of all shapes, sizes, colors, and ages while in the City by the Bay. My personal favorite was a buff motorcycle dude tricked out in black leather riding a bright yellow, shiny-new Vespa. I guess you never do know.

My favorite vacation spot – Corolla, NC – is also an excellent place for scooting. The Outer Banks (OBX) are a skinny spit of land that sticks out into the Atlantic Ocean, about 70 miles long and 6 or so miles wide at it’s widest point. The terrain is extremely flat and very scenic, with wide sandy beaches on the East side and the Currtuck sound on the west side. From many points along the beach road, you can see both the ocean and the sound. From Kitty Hawk North, there is only one main road, the two-lane Highway 12 that runs 20 or so miles north to the Virginia line. The roads are perfect for scooting, and I even saw two other Metros while there: one blue like mine, and the other a luscious lime green.

I decided against taking my scooter on vacation (just one more thing to pack!), but after a few days in the OBX I wished I had brought it. But the disparity between state licensing laws makes scooting across state lines difficult. For folks that travel frequently – or for those of us that live close to other states – this could become a real conundrum! I personally know several Maryland residents who would like to use a 50 cc scooter to commute into nearby Washington, DC but are unable to do so because the licensing laws don’t jive. DC requires scooter to be tagged and Maryland doesn’t allow it. What’s a scooter enthusiast to do?