A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO DEFINE AND AUTHORIZE THE USE OF nontandem TWO‑WHEELED PERSONAL ASSISTIVE MOBILITY DEVICES.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 20‑4.01(7a) reads as rewritten:
"(7b)	Employer. – Any person who owns or leases a commercial motor vehicle or assigns a person to drive a commercial motor vehicle."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 20‑4.01 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(7a)	Electric Personal Assistive Mobility Device. — A self-balancing nontandem two-wheeled device, designed to transport one person, with a propulsion system that limits the maximum speed of the device to 15 miles per hour or less."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 20‑4.01(49) reads as rewritten:
"(49)	Vehicle. – Every device in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, excepting devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon fixed rails or tracks; provided, that for the purposes of this Chapter bicycles shall be deemed vehicles and every rider of a bicycle upon a highway shall be subject to the provisions of this Chapter applicable to the driver of a vehicle except those which by their nature can have no application. This term shall not include a device which is designed for and intended to be used as a means of transportation for a person with a mobility impairment, or who uses the device for mobility enhancement, is suitable for use both inside and outside a building, including on sidewalks, and is limited by design to 15 miles per hour when the device is being operated by a person with a mobility impairment, or who uses the device for mobility enhancement. This term does not include an electric personal assistive mobility device as defined in G.S. 20-4.01(7a)."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 20‑51 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(14)	Electric personal assistive mobility devices as defined in G.S. 20‑4.01(7a)."
SECTION 5.  Article 3 of Chapter 20 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Part to read:
"Part 11C. Electric Personal Assistive Mobility Devices.
"§ 20-175.6.  Electric personal assistive mobility devices.
(a)	Electric Personal Assistive Mobility Device. – As defined in G.S. 20‑4.01(7a).
(b)	Exempt From Registration. – As provided in G.S. 20-51.
(c)	Use of Device. – An electric personal assistive mobility device may be operated on public highways with posted speeds of 25 miles per hour or less, sidewalks, and bicycle paths. A person operating an electric personal assistive mobility device on a sidewalk, roadway, or bicycle path shall yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and other human-powered devices. A person operating an electric personal assistive mobility device shall have all rights and duties of a pedestrian."
SECTION 6.  This act is effective when it becomes law.