Vroom for Improvement
Good news for scooter-haters citywide: Someone in officialdom is on your side. Vespa Washington manager Gerry Helfgott says there’s been a spike in enforcement of registration requirements, which, contrary to popular belief, apply to all scooters in D.C., regardless of engine size. When customers call to complain about getting pulled over, he says, they usually mention one man: Officer Richard Carter, a motorcycle cop with the special operations division. Last month, George Washington University grad student Ethan Pollack received five tickets totaling $1,180 from Carter for riding without registration. Pollack says he didn’t know he had to register his 49.5cc Daelim. But the officer, he says, was still “unnecessarily confrontational and patronizing.” Pollack was also sited for failure to present insurance, failure to have insurance, failure to show up for inspection, and reckless driving.
Carter acknowledges he’s behind many of the current crop of tickets but won’t elaborate on what drives his zeal. “They’re in violation of the law,” he says. “My statement is, Would you like a copy of the law?”
12:34 pm
Looks like Pollack also didn't know reckless driving is a no-no. Ha!
If I had a scooter, I'd want insurance in case I run into something. And if I paid a few thousand for a cute scooter, what's a couple hundred a year in insurance?
12:35 pm
Disclaimer: No reference to Jackson Pollack intended.
5:55 pm
Ms. Valdez: Why did it take five tickets for Pollack to realize he had to register his bike?
11:47 am
I can answer both those questions:
IdriveAmotorcycle: The reckless operation of motor vehicle ticket had nothing to do with my driving. It was based completely on the fact that I did not have registration, insurance, or inspection. Apparently, driving without those things is considered "reckless". I had broken no traffic laws beyond not having the proper paperwork. Also, not to be a nitpicker, but Jackson Pollock spells his name differently from me.
Bacon Cheese Egg: This may not have been adequately noted in the article, but the five tickets were all given on a single traffic stop. It did not take me "five tickets" for me to realize that I had to register my bike. Instead, it took one traffic stop, at which point five tickets were issued. Had one ticket for lack of registration and one for insurance been issued, the effect would have been the same. The other three were, in my opinion, overkill.
1:38 pm
Officer Richard Carter LOVES big tickets - I just received a $500 ticket for passing 4 cars on a ramp in traffic gridlock! I too thought he attitude was patronizing and disrespectful.