Our attorney Tim Black had quite the surprise for us this week when he showed up driving a cherry red moped! He was all smiles as he showed up on the bright scooter, excited to show it off to the rest of the team!
In actuality, he should have been trying to hide it; as what self-respecting high powered defense attorney would drive this thing? On the other hand, we are happy that our Tim is comfortable enough in his skin to actually drive this from downtown to Park Ridge without the slightest embarrassment and suffer through everyone’s good-natured jabs!
Laura and Maddy were howling in hysterics when our financial planner asked us whose scooter it was. Laura, of course, could not resist and almost took off on it!
Tim’s scooter sparked a hilarious amount of laughter (mostly at him!) and had Laura wondering how in the world it could possibly be legal to drive this thing on the Kennedy – or any long distance trip! This prompted an office discussion on what qualifies as a moped and the rules and regulations one must follow to operate one legally and we decided this would make a great blog post! My research brought me to DMV.org which offered a concise guide to Illinois moped laws, summarized below.
First of all, there are requirements that must be met in order for a vehicle to be considered a moped. The vehicle must: only be able attain speeds of 20-30 mph over the course of a mile; be capable of producing 2 brake horsepower or less; have an engine displacement of less than 50cc; and have a transmission that does not require gear shifting. If all these requirements are met, your vehicle is a moped and you are able to operate it with a standard Illinois driver’s license! However, if one or more of these criteria is not met the vehicle is considered a small motorcycle and a Class L license will be required.
The next most important thing to know is that your moped must be registered with the state, much like a car. Upon registering your vehicle, you will be issued license plates. These license plate’s differ depending on vehicle and so it is very important to provide correct piston displacement on your application. Insurance is also required on Illinois mopeds and should be purchased before taking your vehicle out on the road.
As far as safety goes, a helmet is not required, nor is eyewear of any sort; although, the lack of requirement doesn’t mean you shouldn’t wear them. Safety first! At night the driver must display both a headlight visible from at least 500 feet away and a red reflector on the back visible from at least 100 feet away.
If you follow all these rules and regulations there will be no problem with you riding a moped in the state of Illinois, just like Tim! It’s too bad he didn’t purchase this gem earlier in the year so he had more time to enjoy it before the air gets cold and the roads get icy. And as always, if you are in need of representation for criminal charges do not hesitate to contact the LauraLaw team. Ride safely!
