Lawmakers in the state have now required that riders start to register their vehicles in July.
A Senate panel in North Carolina has now laid down the requirement that will bring the state one step closer to mandated moped insurance as riders of the devices will need to register their vehicles as of next year.
These small engine bicycles will soon be included among the vehicles that will require insurance.
Last week, a Senate committee agreed with a House bill that said that a moped insurance requirement would also go into effect as of July 2016. According to Rep. Phil Shepard (Jacksonville), people who are riding these vehicles should be held financially responsible for damage or injuries that result from accidents that they cause, as is the case with other vehicles with engines.
The amount that a driver will actually have to pay in insurance premiums will be based on his or her driving history, primarily. Those with longer driving histories that have been free of incident will be required to pay less than those who have not been driving for long or who have been involved in multiple crashes, for example.
Mopeds are commonly used as alternative vehicles for people who have lost their driving privileges for other larger vehicles, such as cars. For this reason, those individuals may find themselves having to pay higher insurance premiums for their mopeds than those whose driving histories are flawless.
The bill will be going to the full Senate at its next stop. It has already made its way through the House as of April.
Moped drivers are going to need to start to register their vehicles as of July 1. This will cost an annual $18. As of yet, it is not known exactly how many mopeds are driven within North Carolina, as there has not previously been a required registration. Once registration begins, it will help to provide a source of data in order to be able to better understand the size of what the moped insurance sector is going to be within the state.
