Traffic & Safety Committee: Hoverboards

Lock it Up!
For many of us the Bluff is among the more pleasant places to gather to enjoy the evening, watch the sunset, have a cool drink, and enjoy the companionship of neighbors and friends. Sadly, for some but for the overall good, the party is over at 10:00 p.m. each evening. Security personnel are instructed to lock the gates and anyone refusing to leave is subject to arrest for Trespassing. Any cars left in the three lots will be towed away at the owner ’s expense.
If, for any reason the owner or previous driver of a parked car at the Bluff become concerned that they somehow became incapacitated to the extent that they cannot safely drives their car away from the parking lots, they may notify security personnel at the gate and the vehicle will not be towed. The car can be safely driven away the next day after the gates open.
Hoverboards: I was asked to cover this topic again as there appears to be a bit of confusion. The drafting of the related laws was not as clear as they might be, but they went into effect at the first of the year as originally written.
Standards for Hoverboards, or more correctly known as Electrically Motorized Boards or even better yet, as EMBs are set in section 313.5 of the California Vehicle Code (V.C.).
There is nothing that you will be tested on here, but sections of the same code, 21291 and 21292, contain a couple of things you must know: you have to be sixteen; and you have to wear a helmet. Sections 21292 and 21293 of the Vehicle Code allows EMBs to be operated on some public streets and sidewalks under certain conditions.
A bit confusing? Don’t worry! Our Niguel Shores Rules and Regulations, section 6213, simplifies the whole issue for most of us. Warning, if tested you should know this. The operation of EMBs is prohibited on our roadways, sidewalks, common areas and parking lots. That covers almost everything except a backyard or a hallway in a house.
God bless……….

—Tim Murphy

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