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Response: Local law enforcement agencies <br />should have the express authority to use <br />photo enforcement technology to enforce <br />traffic laws. Local law enforcement <br />officers should have the express authority <br />to issue citations for traffic violations by <br />mail where the violation is detected with <br />photographic evidence. <br />SD-45. Operation of Motorized <br />Foot Scooters <br />Issue: Current state statute pre-empts the <br />authority of local units of government to <br />regulate the operation of motorized foot <br />scooters. The law provides that an operator <br />must be 12 years of age or older. Although <br />the law contains safety provisions, including <br />a requirement that operators under the age of <br />18 must wear helmets, it does not require <br />training or permits for operators of any age. <br />Further, it does not explicitly restrict the <br />operation of motorized foot scooters to low - <br />volume and/or low -speed roadways. <br />Use of motorized equipment on roadways is <br />inherently more dangerous than the use of <br />non -motorized bicycles and is comparable to <br />the operation of motorized watercraft. While <br />the law governing watercraft operation also <br />requires an operator to be at least 12 years of <br />age, Minn. Stat. § 86B.101 requires <br />watercraft operators between the ages of 12 <br />and 18 to successfully complete a youth <br />watercraft safety program and to obtain a <br />watercraft operator's permit. The youth <br />watercraft safety program is administered by <br />the state, and includes a personal watercraft <br />educational course and a testing program <br />that emphasizes safe and legal operation. <br />Response: State law should limit <br />operation of motorized foot scooters to <br />roadways with speed limits of 30 miles <br />per hour or less. State law should require <br />motorized foot scooter operators between <br />the ages of 12 and 18 to obtain an <br />operator's permit by successfully <br />completing a state -administered <br />motorized foot scooter safety program <br />modeled after the watercraft safety <br />program. In addition, state law should <br />allow local units of government to be <br />more restrictive in regulating the <br />operation of motorized foot scooters, and <br />should provide explicit authority to <br />regulate hours of use. <br />SD-46. Electric Personal Assistive <br />Mobility Devices and Electric <br />Vehicles Operation While Impaired <br />Issue: Electric personal assistive mobility <br />devices (commonly referred to as Segways) <br />and electric vehicles are becoming <br />increasingly popular modes of <br />transportation, particularly for local trips. <br />The definitions of these types of vehicles are <br />provided under Minn. Stat. § 169.011 as <br />follows: <br />• "Electric personal assistive mobility <br />device" means a self -balancing device with <br />two nontandem wheels, designed to <br />transport not more than one person, and <br />operated by an electric propulsion system <br />that limits the maximum speed of the device <br />to 15 miles per hour. <br />• "Electric vehicle" means a motor vehicle <br />that is able to be powered by an electric <br />motor drawing current from rechargeable <br />storage batteries, fuel cells, or other portable <br />sources of electrical current, and meets or <br />exceeds applicable regulations in Code of <br />Federal Regulations, title 49, part 571, and <br />successor requirements. Electric vehicles <br />include neighborhood electric vehicles, <br />medium -speed electric vehicles and plug-in <br />hybrid electric vehicles. <br />Although the state driving while impaired <br />(DWI) law (Minn. Stat. § 169A.20) <br />prohibits a person with a blood alcohol level <br />League of Minnesota Cities <br />2015 City Policies Page 30 <br />