The MacNeil/Lehrer Report; Mopeds

us it's been these low as bell funding for this program has been provided by the station and

other public television stations and by grants from exxon corporation allied chemical corporation and the corporation for public broadcasting is this the answer to the energy shortage or is it the new ministers politely and it's not quite a bicycle it's not quite a motorcycle it's the love it's america's legacy weeks before reading jim marrs on vacation we have a slightly different stories sort of story tonight not earth shattering but very interesting in europe especially in france you see hordes of these contraptions on the

road during rush hours there are millions of housewives shop workers ride them to the office or a factory they're they call the motor assisted bicycles and now the united states we call a moped smoke promoter had for battle traffic safety magazine says they looked like the offspring of a ms alliance between a schwinn and on and that's about right the simple cheap and fuel efficient but in this country the moped invasion isn't simple in fact it's got legislators and safety experts and the mild temperatures caught in a tangle of controversy you know i don't think it matters whether it's more a bicycle or more a motorcycle but they do and that's our story the motel industry expects to sell a hundred and fifty thousand of them in the united states this year the trade organization representing importers manufacturers dealers and distributors of mopeds is called the motorized bicycle association its executive director is paul zimmerman who's with us in washington mr zimmerman is a moped a bicycle or a motorcycle this would know if we believe it's

neither its unique it was developed by bicycle manufacturers after the second world war in europe when the circumstances were much as they are now in need for fuel efficient vehicle that is obviously not a motorcycle because it doesn't have the power a quick manner complexity associated with motorcycle operation yet it is more than a bicycle because it has a small single cylinder one spark plug engine well there are there were probably twenty five thousand sold in nineteen seventy five which was the first year that they were readily available a probably seventy five thousand were sold in nineteen seventy six last year and as you indicated we expect that approximately a hundred and fifty thousand will be sold this year who's you the age bracket of a purchase is surprisingly large the purchases seem to range the main bridges between twenty five and and fifty five more women than expected are purchasing them the main bridges are still nails and the main uses the utility form of

transportation much as the vehicle has developed in europe over the last thirty years you drive one japan that depends on state law in our country of course the state to regulate the age limit of any vehicle on the road generally the state's in there now thirty two states richard hess specific laws defining and regulating the vehicles with children age between fourteen and sixteen as a minimum age to operate the vehicle and we always recommend a minimum ages is not a child fishing in seventy seven cents is the single cylinder a two stroke engines can use is of a maximum horsepower of tumor average lawnmowers about three three and a half horsepower which produces a maximum speed of thirty miles an hour they weigh between sixteen hundred pounds and they'll get anywhere between a hundred and fifty and two hundred twenty miles per gallon said well the safety record in europe has been outstanding over

the last thirty years the statistics by country in europe show that the incident of accidents from lopez's five to ten times less than for motorcycles and we fully expect because of the safety equipment that's required by the federal government in this country the lights breaks and tires or strictly controlled by the federal government and their low speed simplicity of operation and maneuverability it will find the same excellent safety record here in the us or one of the disadvantages i would say it if you want put it this way the disadvantage is that it's a it's a single passenger machine it won't take you long distances it's prohibited or should be provided we always recommend to be prohibited on interstate from operation interstate unlimited access roads if you don't like to get wet not a good idea to write it in inclement weather i say i am was told today the people are putting up stickers and public places all over new york saying stamp out the moped menace what is the moped minutes not sure i can answer that we don't think that

if you have been a menace the vehicle is still relatively in its infancy in the united states reports we've received thus far from the states and witches and sold is that the preponderance of people are using the vehicle responsibly as i said we always recommend a minimum age for operation in that vehicle and its writer comply with all traffic laws and rules of the road and we feel it people operate them safely and people operate them properly and other vehicles on the road including automobiles or educated to look out and watch out for slower moving vehicles such as bicycles mopeds and pedestrians it will be a valuable addition to the transportation mix in the country i kept that industry bases its sales pitch on the simplicity of the machine you don't have to know anything that where the break is in the accelerator they say stresses low maintenance and high gas mileage is on a moped industry presents it in their own demonstration would you like a man like yourself to ride a bicycle

obviously would not write a motorized but i'm just wondering if you might want to try something like this never seen one of the nightmare recently at a watch apart this and that will lead to take a ride only motorized bicycle and works just like regular ones that are just like your regular bicycle your hand right or up here at your pedals and then they'll use that too well start off young and here's your strawberry on the text anti dismay one who for a little bit and don't want to place and i get a little gas and then you away from what you think of when you're back in at the la bicycle believe you have a failure in your view

that you very much that film was made by the moped industry but things don't seem all that simple the safety experts they're worried that the sudden emergence of thousands of mopeds and the normal traffic streams will be dangerous to the moped writers and the people in other vehicles have light is manager of the school and college department of the nih schmalz safety council and he's also with us in washington mr white what worries you about mopeds the machines are the writers probably the primary concern now robin is the question of the writer whether or not he has adequate instruction whether or not he has adequate background and experience and moving from a bicycle for example or even a automobile into this relatively low powered vehicle and the track extreme we're concerned as a pause already pointed out about the education waters to the motorist the day is just beginning to become accustomed to seeing bicycles on the roadway and becoming accustomed to seeing motorcycles on the roadway and now

you added an additional element and we have a feeling that the low power of the moped while kerry works to an advantage in so far as the economy is concerned maybe a detriment to the situation on the highway whenever you have at a variety of temple that is whenever you have a change in the traffic flow with cars moving at a different temple with vehicles moving at a different tempo then you face the possibility of conflict and that's what we foresee any situation when moped moves into the traffic flow are you impressed in the national safety council by the european safety statistics that that mr zimmerman referred to i would show him were impressed favorably or not quite sure however that the experience in europe can be a generalized this country i think the situation is considerably different there i suspect that the mortars have tended to grow up if you will with

bicycles and mopeds and motorcycles and scooters but i'm not at all sure that the situation is the same in this country as you know on the bicycle became popular a few years back we had some problems there with visibility and i think the same kind of situation is going to develop with more pets it is easy to ride mr light as the industry claims for somebody does putting on one for the first time it's possibly changing from a bicycle probably not quite as simple as the film clip that we saw would have everyone believed but basically they are a very simple machine to learn to operate and i should see you know typically in terms of moving from a bicycle for example two to hold it but the debate operation of the machine i don't think is a very important problem i think the lack of experience among the party operator india and track extreme lack of experience with the two wheeled vehicle which has all kinds of inherent problem so in terms of road surface and weather conditions and acceleration things like this

these are the problems that we see which may cause a serious safety problem as the mau mau had been multiplied asked fourteen to sixteen i've read that in north carolina even twelve years old and it is that that's too young to have the sort of necessary traffic judgment never going to be writing these things on the road i i feel it probably about sixteen ought to be a more realistic minimum age for operation of our vehicle i'm sorry what what minimum age to sixty do you think that the red ryder should be licensed and have to pass a test in each day of the national safety council has really examined this particular aspect if you want my personal view i'm inclined to feel yes that though the moped operator ought to have some kind of specialized licensing procedure after all the licensing procedures designed to weed out incompetent or two to honor of any problems that the potential love writer might have and unless there's some kind of

a licensing procedure for them or an operator and some kind of instruction for them or an operator then it seems to me that there you may be asking for trouble so i say let's look at another aspect of this another man with a particular interest and mopeds is mainly a lane he teaches a course and moped maintenance at the apple skills exchange of teaching institution with six thousand students which he founded here in new york was delaying what's your definition of a moped august is a motorized bicycle it seems a bit more like an powered motorcycle than a bicycle without help is it make a difference how you regarded how you look at it no except in the way people are likely to use and i think the whole question of safety has to do with the conscious runner on the bike and that looks like a motorcycle sounds like but two is regarded here is a serious the emperor's a toy in this country so for one in new york among our students that apple incident

seriously use it for commuting use it to save taxes there's these to get a place to place a simple to park an inexpensive copper ore one of the problems with them safety is deadly the major problems brought his wizened obama's assurance and seamus unsafe the only thing that i do is about the mission itself that we discovered the course of the program was it as an ideal base electrical system and he's a fast hugo brady allies can also means that when this all you have no lights no one is the only city kitchen and shane who is the fact that the riders aboard it right is tend to go in the curved blades into the tumors synagogue in new york city parents and pop sellers as dangerous so one of it disappeared got injured right away on the larger a bicycle and i think the i think is that really such a valid comparison what is the bicycles a faster the more maneuverable and the more visible i don't think that a bicycle the

netherlands joe the bus is driving on arrival in the senate where condors an end and then they have that same problem perhaps i say keep out of crippling which every good bicycle or a stake in the current way in what problems do you see if people think of it as an under powered motorcycle what doesn't it do apart from exoneration the motorcycle will do well suspension there are some also have solid from suspension and springs and for him alonzo has for years on the us is a pretty lavish model all to say that were lots of promises not having that in the front row then you become the suspension system and you're joking like a bicycle again and what is a duty wellington division you occupied with calls recruit conditions things are he still has problems in the war years they have the same brands have no idea i think will present the long foreign ministers as well and i

don't think it's a question of whether they're a menace i think it's a question of was at clinton's com use the new service do you think that there are problems you teach them and so there's only nine and maintenance problems oh sure in some cases is a shortage of parts in some cases is a shortage of trained mechanics and that the moped buyer is on his own in some instances was a lot of mention don't you know i think there is i think that that because of the nature of the engine itself it's a small team but you have an engine engine so the nature of engine one a lot of the problems associated with maintaining well this is the combustion chamber and its small uber an accommodation with little that still sincere there have been a combination of course in a two stroke engines of oil investment that tends to carbonize and cocoa so these

conversations have to be difficult for me sparkle in the combustion chamber also gives it will file refers to the mixes conversion the symbol means procedures that can be learned that have to be done i see anyone is it is that the ministers are new to replace is to have this done for you so many factors of exchanging programs there's growing tremendously consciously motives for sale house entre shops novelties dollars withers know that is the great divergence in new york city because they do you think finally for a rare collector discussion do you think a writer should be licensed as a us syrian of serious enough more as nickel apiece should be tested licensed yes except i feel really reluctant to say that because i hate to see it over regulate i think a licensing procedure that would permit written examinations of to do a local labor will be adequate if the deal and sell those lessons say mr zimmerman were comments to have been in industries for new on mr lane's well

in terms of saying his comments on a maintenance i think it's extremely important as when purchasing any product that the purchaser investigate the person is dealing with the company which is feeling make sure that the company and the second theory is is has enough spare parts and the right soundbite of vehicle don't have that report that's right nonetheless it does require servicing responsible manufacturers instruments provide a manual for such service in the poor mechanically inclined can do some of that service in himself with some of that must be done by it by train mechanic and although it doesn't have to be done very often and it is a very complicated it is a mechanical procedure and for people to get their utmost houston long life which you can certainly get in one of the advantages of these genes are they must probably take care ft this is the performance of these things are within the industry says it isn't and they get to two hundred miles a gallon hundred and fifty

miles per gallon and kind of thing is we're on my part company i think because when the classes i have one student who swears he's never done more than thirty five miles to thirty five miles per gallon but to my direct knowledge i've never seen more than ninety miles an hour and i think the poems critical because the moped becomes ecologically environmentally sound fishing if the mileage in fact those over age and fifty mpg it might be that i see students when the bikes and new and then i guess you didn't it at the reason i get sued and i can imagine what i have seen is a consultant some were grossly exaggerate their attitude a mile per hour two hundred mile per gallon milk is i find interesting in some i think depending upon the way to the waiter the writer to do with it certainly but i believe very strongly that third those figures or more accurately will that it will of course also be determined on as to how well to the vehicle is how well maintained it is ah but so over the last thirty years was a prudent to

be fairly accurate figures macbeth one sibling get some consensus among you on if we'd searched going to be regulated i guess it is in some way what what it should be first of all on the minimum age mr light thought sixteen you agree with that mr zimmerman i think that is really up to the individual state we say somewhere between fourteen sixteen years now i think that's that is two young as a matter of fact when we came upon the scene our organization we found several states that did not have minimum ages for operation the vehicles in and we asked him and then spoke to state legislators to have minimum ages introduced them in those states so and they have been odd we feel that if there is to be a license for the vehicle and some states now let mentioned thirty two states which have rate specifically define the vehicle are we think that any valid driver's license should be sufficient the possession of a valid driver's license means someone has demonstrated

to the satisfaction of the state his knowledge of the rules of the road i and since we believe that the rules of the road should be strictly enforced in terms of anything or anybody on the road we think that self sufficient mr lane on on the minimum age question what richard finn i guess i feel as though a bit younger than their younger than sixty grand fortune oh boy is pretty confident he is now are you think they should be licensed you said so no should have to pass some kind of test you feel you're not worried about licensing and mr zimmerman you think that some kind of licensing ringtone to that idea i think a guess but i think a skill tests frankly is superfluous and probably waste the taxpayers' money in the time of the person on it since anyone was written a bison will be comfortable on the vehicle within a few minutes the possession of a driver's license itself it an automobile driver's license or another type of driver's license can be valuable again in that they're by the prison's had some

experience on the road with a vehicle mr like when you think about the question of insurance should there be insurance should be mandatory i'm not really a qualified nor ready to talk about the question that authority insurance but it does seem to me that the public ought to be protected in the event they will plant operator does that involve a cliff and what form of insurance so it would be important i don't know this again thinking is up to the individual's faith and actually function the lead it required or if it's only a bicycle with a bit of power assisting why would you need insurance you don't need insurance of the bicycle a little bit i'm sure you're not so on the court for they just didn't feel his innocence of insurance you do not putting it says should be the individuals option as with moments rather the major controversy surrounding mopeds so you don't you don't think the insurance industries and we would like and we have been

working with insurance companies around the country urging them to develop liability insurance policies for those who want them for those writers who want and we don't think they should be mandatory i just as liability insurance isn't mandatory for a bicycle operators but we would like them available just as some bicycle riders want liability insurance available for those who desire says let's say is delaying mentioned helmets what you think i mean that's one of the big things should they have to wear helmets you know what we've done is we have recommended helmets mostly because the writers on new and unaccustomed to motorcycles but personally i hate violence and i think that you're right it's a good idea because seventy five percent motorcycle accidents involved had injuries but again i think the riders option as you know that once again they don't go much faster than bicycles and bicycle riders only wear helmets it'll slow the right and i think that's one that is one of the dangers is that it does go slow but people have been involved in accidents on mopeds and bought a home as good protection leo <unk> white helmets there's no question

about that as far as were concerned on what we feel would be required the american medical association will soon be releasing a study that they've done which indicates that their recommendations to our that the cyclist i don't know about bicyclists as well as a motorcyclist and will plant operators should wear helmets and a bigger than a question about that from a safety point of view the problem again with collision with the two wheeled vehicle is not necessarily the initial collusion between the moped and the car or whatever it's the second collision when the moped operators strikes the ground and this is where had protection is absolutely vital sarah thinking that this is an area we have to make a distinction between motorcycles and and mopeds as i said earlier book that is not a motorcycle out we think there should be a matter of local option some people wish to wear helmets but we don't think it should be required for this reason that is indicated by the four the prior

speakers cannot exceed the speed of the ten speed bicycle and in some cases it's a lower backs and be by law we wish it to be defined by its maximum speed and the states that have done so you were combine oh yes we feel that and all the states that have passed local laws have to find a vehicle in terms of its maximum speed we wish it to be kept a low speed vehicles so you have a low speed vehicle bicycle like speed with safety equipment that is breaks fires lights which are strictly controlled by the federal government you can introduce these vehicles for sale as they meet those standards odd when you add that to the simplicity of operation of the vehicle that is the absence of a kickstarter a clutch shifting way a fourth break the simplicity of operation plus the safety equipment and the low speed the vets of inclusion at home should not be mandated some people with the word and it has some bicyclists when we asked mr lloyd burgess delight in europe many of the

countries that have had these things for years and millions of them around they have special lanes are parts of the roadway were these things operate if they became very numerous in this country do you think that would be a sensible thing are they safe to drive on the main highway for five i'm concerned i think they're quite safe to drive only on the main highway i as a bicyclist at heart i would have some reservations about sharing a portion of the road way as a bicyclist with a moped operator so in my estimation lay of the moped belongs with the floor traffic just as unassuming suggested there previously the problem that i see however with the moped and the flow of traffic is its low power for one thing which may not enable it to keep up with the traffic flow and it's a low acceleration which is another problem that perhaps won't be able to get out of the way of the mortars in time another problem is the visibility of the moped operator positions himself in the way of traffic with an automobile incredible and automobile behind him his visibility or his kind of acuity if you will is just about

eliminate it and someone mindful into that space may well or collide with the mold that operated there was fun for that there's a moment it seems to me we always recommend that the vehicles that more guns be prohibited from operation an interstate in limited access highway is to try to eliminate the situation where you have very high speed vehicles competing if you will with the wood with moping are however it i go back to the question of experience are an education it's very important the moped operate understand the limitations of his vehicle and he does rather quickly and he has responsibility to obey the rules of the road to drive carefully as i said to recognize what is legal can and can't do at the same point this is a vehicle which we feel is here to stay if not fed a little price of gasoline is not going to go down we think that the automobile driver has a responsibility to recognize the rifles and pedestrians thanks mr zimmerman that's our time and i think student learns to live and the second is to

land at sort of the night where did that tomorrow night and other news providing our story will be jimmy carter goes south and gets an earful on energy and robert macneil at night ms bibi companies become the company's board mcneil lehrer report was produced by wnet and wpa they are solely responsible for its content funding for this program has been provided by the station and other public television stations and bike grants from exelon corporation allied chemical corporation and the corporation for public

broadcasting you're around new tune new way ms alwan story next on the macneil lehrer it one one story in detail is lauren page joins the new moon is