Senate committee advances bill requiring insurance for mopeds after sponsor recounts crash
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Summary
House Bill 494, advanced by the Senate Public Safety Committee, would require insurance for mopeds licensed to operate on Georgia roads. Sponsor Representative Dewey McClain described an incident in which an uninsured moped struck an intern, and he said insurance for mopeds would be inexpensive relative to typical vehicle coverage.
The Georgia Senate Public Safety Committee voted unanimously to advance House Bill 494, which would require mopeds licensed to operate on public roads to carry liability insurance.
Representative Dewey McClain, the bill’s sponsor, told the committee the proposal grew out of an incident involving a college intern he supervised. “He was at the red light, and a moped had hit him in the back,” McClain said. He said the moped rider was allowed to leave the scene because mopeds in Georgia are not currently required to have insurance; McClain recounted that the intern’s vehicle suffered roughly $2,500 in damage and the driver faced a $500 deductible.
McClain told the committee that mopeds commonly sell for between $900 and $2,000 and that, based on conversations with insurers, liability coverage for a moped would likely be “between dollars 50 a month, to, you know, roughly, $75 a month,” depending on the vehicle. He said he had carried the proposal for several years and that the intent is to ensure vehicles that operate on roads carry insurance like other motorized vehicles.
Committee members asked practical questions about classification thresholds and whether larger electric bicycles or rental scooters could present classification or enforcement issues; McClain acknowledged those concerns and suggested a study or further clarification may be needed for rental or higher-speed vehicles.
With no public witnesses signed to oppose the bill at the hearing, Senator Wicks moved to pass House Bill 494; Senator Jackson seconded, and the committee recorded the measure as passing unanimously.
Votes at a glance: House Bill 494 — Motion to do pass (mover: Senator Wicks; second: Senator Jackson); outcome: passed unanimously (roll-call not recorded in committee transcript).
