Tag it:

GOVERNOR SIGNS BILL LEGALIZING ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION

Commuters save money on high gas prices

(Tucson, AZ) What do you call a mutant vehicle with hybrid pedal/gas power that gets close to 20 MPH at a dirt-cheap 150 miles a gallon? According to Arizona House Bill 2796, signed by the Governor on May 19 2006, it's not a moped or a motorcycle, but a motorized bicycle. And if it's a Spooky Tooth motorized bike, you could call it the most unique looking transportation revolution to hit America since the pogo stick.

From humble beginnings as an in-home shop on Bean St. surviving on word of mouth alone, Spooky Tooth just turned "2" with a new shop on St. Mary's. With over 300 bikes on the street, Spooky Tooth's cycles have been turning heads all over Tucson—including the heads of a few traffic cops. When police began ticketing Spooky Tooth riders here in Tucson, shop owner Roland Bosma fought for his customers' rights to cheap transportation by successfully lobbying Rep. Tom Prezelski to pass HB 2796. The bill removed a major roadblock to Bosma's vision of a desert town with no cars – just sleek, efficient motorized bikes cruising beneath the vast, rainless sky. It also paved the way for Spooky Tooth to become a household name.

Bosma's Bill defines Spooky Tooth and other motorized bikes as categorically different from motor vehicles like mopeds. Since Spooky Tooth bikes are not designed to exceed 20 MPH, they are now exempt from the legal baggage of insurance, license, and registration. Thanks to the bill, motorized bicycles, gas and electric, are defined in Arizona statute the same as they are in federal regulation and MVD policy, completely street legal.

Bosma sees the bill as a first step in an alternative transportation revolution. On top of freedom from insurance bills, Spooky Tooth riders enjoy a healthy, fun, and practical solution to their daily commute. Older riders praise the low-impact workout and increased range of distances Spooky Tooth bikes provide. With the price of gas in a vicious upward spiral, Spooky Tooth cycles save riders money by using it ten times less than leading automobiles. It seems that HB2796 could not have come at a more appropriate time.

Spooky Tooth transplants over sixty years of Asian motovelocipede technology to Tucson, offering high quality, hand-built motorized bikes at third world prices! Choose from five models with customizable features, including the rugged "Bare Bones" and the stylish "Lowrider," a proud Tucson classic. All models combine undeniable style with extreme efficiency for half the price of leading eBikes. Models range from $525 - $700, with most bikes going for less than $600, tax included. Custom bikes are built to order within a week. Other Spooky Tooth options include converting an existing bike or taking home a do-it-yourself engine kit.

Best of all, thanks to Bosma's Bill, Spooky Tooth bikes require no license, registration, or insurance, making them street legal straight from the shop – and about a hundred times faster than the pogo sticks of yore!

AN ACT

amending title 28, chapter 7, article 15, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 28-2516; relating to distinctive vehicles.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 28, chapter 7, article 15, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 28-2516, to read:

START_STATUTE28-2516. Motorized electric or gas powered bicycles or tricycles; definition

A. Notwithstanding any other provision of this title:

1. A certificate of title is not required for a motorized electric or gas powered bicycle or tricycle.

2. Registration is not required for a motorized electric or gas powered bicycle or tricycle.

3. Vehicle license tax is not imposed on a motorized electric or gas powered bicycle or tricycle.

4. A motorized electric or gas powered bicycle or tricycle is exempt from the provisions of section 28-964 relating to required equipment on motorcycles and motor-driven cycles and from the provisions of title 49, chapter 3, article 5 relating to vehicle emissions inspections.

5. A driver license is not required to operate a motorized electric or gas powered bicycle or tricycle.

6. A motorized electric or gas powered bicycle or tricycle may use rights-of-way designated for the exclusive use of bicycles.

7. A motorized electric or gas powered bicycle or tricycle is not subject to chapter 9 of this title.

B. For the purposes of this section, "motorized electric or gas powered bicycle or tricycle" means a bicycle or tricycle that is equipped with a helper motor that has a maximum piston displacement of forty-eight cubic centimeters or less, that may also be self-propelled and that is operated at speeds of less than twenty miles per hour.END_STATUTE