Significant Percentage of Moped Accidents Involve Intoxicated Drivers

In a study presented at the 2008 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons, statistics revealed a high association between moped driver injuries and positive alcohol levels. Trauma surgeon, Dr. Ashley Christmas of the F.H. Sammy Ross Trauma Center in North Carolina presented evidence that as high as thirty nine percent of moped operators involved in accidents were driving while under the influence of alcohol.

To more closely examine the influence of alcohol on moped crashes, Dr. Christmas and several colleagues conducted a retrospective review of adult moped injuries at the F.H. Sammy Ross Trauma Center between the years of 1995 and 2006. Based on the investigation, Dr. Christmas revealed that, "Upon questioning, we learned that many of these individuals had previously had their drivers' licenses revoked. These patients were very in tune to the fact that a moped was defined as a motorized vehicle with an engine less than 50 cubic centimeters, so they knew they could still drive this vehicle without a license. We suspect that many moped operators are repeat offenders, whose licenses were previously revoked."

Moped laws vary from state to state with regard to the age of the operator and whether or not helmets, registration, inspection, insurance, and, most importantly, a driver's license, are required for operation. For example, in North Carolina, moped operators are not required to have a driver's license, however, across state lines in South Carolina, a license is required. While a license is mandated by South Carolina state law, obtaining that license does not depend on the status of any other driver's license the individual may hold. In other words, a driver may be in possession of a suspended or revoked automobile license due to a DUI conviction, but will still be eligible to receive a moped license.

Dr. Christmas addressed the loopholes in South Carolina law, stating, "It is a kind of flaw in the system. I think the Department of Motor Vehicles needs to take a closer look at the definition of motorized vehicle. If a person loses his or her driver's license, it should roll over into not operating a moped on an open road."

Evidence collected during the study also revealed, surprisingly, that despite the fact that the severity of moped accidents was much lower than the severity of motorcycle or automobile accidents, moped drivers still had a higher rate of death as a result of those accidents. Due to these puzzling findings, Dr. Christmas and his colleagues have expanded their study to investigate the cause of this paradox. He and his colleagues are also currently working with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in order to determine how many of moped drivers admitted to the F.H. Sammy Ross Trauma Center were driving with a suspended license.

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