8th-Grader
Takes Up Fight For Scooters
Chandler Rider Supporting
Safety, 'Silencers' Over Ban
By Doug Carroll
The Arizona Republic, 2-11-05
The Arizona Republic, 2-11-05
CHANDLER AZ - Joseph Kinyon won't give up his hobby without
a fight.
The articulate 14-year-old has inadvertently become a voice for riders of motorized scooters in Chandler, thanks to his new role serving on a citizens task force. The group has been charged with drafting a recommendation to the City Council regarding use of the scooters.
Kinyon is the only teenager on the seven-member panel, which met for the first time Wednesday night to review Chandler's ordinance.
The articulate 14-year-old has inadvertently become a voice for riders of motorized scooters in Chandler, thanks to his new role serving on a citizens task force. The group has been charged with drafting a recommendation to the City Council regarding use of the scooters.
Kinyon is the only teenager on the seven-member panel, which met for the first time Wednesday night to review Chandler's ordinance.
The group, under the direction of Assistant City Manager
Rich Dlugas, will convene again Feb. 22, when it is expected to hear from
Phoenix officials about that city's ban on scooters and also witness a
demonstration of various types of scooters.
Kinyon, an eighth-grader at Santan K-8 who lives near McQueen and Riggs roads, said he is concerned that Chandler will follow the lead of Phoenix and Tucson and ban the so-called "motorized play vehicles."
"All the newspapers and everyone is talking about banning them," Kinyon said. "They want to destroy our hobby. If you raise the age (requirement), it won't be an option anymore.
"This hobby keeps kids off drugs and from doing stupid things."
Chandler's ordinance requires motorized scooter operators to be at least 13, to obey traffic rules and to keep the vehicles off sidewalks and major streets. Operators 17 or younger must wear a helmet and are not to modify scooters to make them faster or louder. Passengers are prohibited.
However, scooter owners such as Kinyon freely admit to installing an expansion chamber, or "pipe," on their gas-powered scooters to boost their speed to more than 25 mph.
The alteration also makes the scooters louder, and that's primarily what bothers Greg Dutton, a 12-year resident of west Chandler who also is on the task force. Dutton has led the well-organized opposition to the scooters.
"We've relegated these things to the place where they're the least welcome - the residential neighborhoods," said Dutton, who wants riders to be at least 16 and have a valid driver's license.
Kinyon said that he and his friends always ride wearing eye protection and full-face helmets. He said he is not opposed to more stringent enforcement of safety gear, and said he would welcome a city safety class and test for riders.
He also said he wouldn't mind being required to install a "silencer" to help reduce his scooter's noise. The part costs about $25, he said.
John Karhut, Kinyon's father, said scooter operators are being picked on unfairly.
"I have (neighbors) with gas-powered weed trimmers who wake me up in the morning," Karhut said. "The kids come to our house and work on (the scooters) and stay out of trouble."
Kinyon, an eighth-grader at Santan K-8 who lives near McQueen and Riggs roads, said he is concerned that Chandler will follow the lead of Phoenix and Tucson and ban the so-called "motorized play vehicles."
"All the newspapers and everyone is talking about banning them," Kinyon said. "They want to destroy our hobby. If you raise the age (requirement), it won't be an option anymore.
"This hobby keeps kids off drugs and from doing stupid things."
Chandler's ordinance requires motorized scooter operators to be at least 13, to obey traffic rules and to keep the vehicles off sidewalks and major streets. Operators 17 or younger must wear a helmet and are not to modify scooters to make them faster or louder. Passengers are prohibited.
However, scooter owners such as Kinyon freely admit to installing an expansion chamber, or "pipe," on their gas-powered scooters to boost their speed to more than 25 mph.
The alteration also makes the scooters louder, and that's primarily what bothers Greg Dutton, a 12-year resident of west Chandler who also is on the task force. Dutton has led the well-organized opposition to the scooters.
"We've relegated these things to the place where they're the least welcome - the residential neighborhoods," said Dutton, who wants riders to be at least 16 and have a valid driver's license.
Kinyon said that he and his friends always ride wearing eye protection and full-face helmets. He said he is not opposed to more stringent enforcement of safety gear, and said he would welcome a city safety class and test for riders.
He also said he wouldn't mind being required to install a "silencer" to help reduce his scooter's noise. The part costs about $25, he said.
John Karhut, Kinyon's father, said scooter operators are being picked on unfairly.
"I have (neighbors) with gas-powered weed trimmers who wake me up in the morning," Karhut said. "The kids come to our house and work on (the scooters) and stay out of trouble."
The group will convene again Feb. 22.
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