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DISTRICT DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
NOTICE OF FINAL RULEMAKING
The Director of the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), pursuant to the authority in sections 3(b) and 6(b) of the Department of Transportation Establishment Act of 2002 (DDOT Establishment Act), effective May 21, 2002 (D.C. Law 14-137; D.C. Official Code § 50-921.02(b), and § 50-921.05(b) (2009 Repl.) (transferring the traffic management function previously delegated to the Department of Public Works under section III (H) of Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1983), and D.C. Official Code § 50-921.05(b) and (c)), and section 6(a)(1), 6(a)(6), and 6(b) of the District of Columbia Traffic Act, approved March 3, 1925 (43 Stat. 1121; D.C. Official Code § 50-2201.03(a)(1), (a)(6), and (b) (2009 Repl.)) which was delegated to the Director of DPW pursuant to Mayor’s Order 96-175, dated December 9, 1996, and subsequently transferred to the Director of the Department in section 7 of the DDOT Establishment Act (transferring to the Director of the Department all transportation-related authority previously delegated to the Director of the Department of Public Works) (D.C. Official Code § 50-921.06 (2009 Repl.)), hereby gives notice of this final action to adopt rules to amend chapters 12 (Bicycles, Motorized Bicycles, and Miscellaneous Vehicles) and 99 (Definitions) of title 18 (Vehicles and Traffic) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR).
This rulemaking amends the regulations that set safety and operating standards for pedicabs published on July 29, 2011, at 58 DCR 6424 by eliminating the requirement for pedicab operators to wear reflective vests and adding a requirement that pedicabs post a notice for passengers to wear the provided seatbelt.
Proposed Regulations were published in a Notice of Emergency and Proposed Rulemaking on August 5, 2011, in the D.C. Register at 58 DCR 6685. No comments were received and no substantive changes were made to the text of the proposed rulemaking. The agency took final rulemaking action on December 16, 2011. This final rulemaking shall become effective upon publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.
Title 18 (Vehicles and Traffic) of the DCMR is amended as follows:
Chapter 12 (Bicycles, Motorized Bicycles, and Miscellaneous Vehicles) is amended by amending section 1213 to read as follows:
1213 PEDICABS
1213.1 Pedicabs shall be operated in accordance with the safe operation of bicycle regulations set forth in § 1201.
1213.2 Notwithstanding § 1213.1, pedicabs shall be operated only on public streets.
1213.3 Each pedicab shall meet the following safety requirements:
(a) The maximum width of the pedicab shall be fifty-five inches (55 in.);
(b) The maximum length of the pedicab shall be ten feet (10 ft.);
(c) The pedicab shall be equipped with:
(1) Passenger seat belts (either one (1) seat belt for each passenger or one (1) seat belt that covers all passengers);
(2) Hydraulic or mechanical disc or drum brakes, which shall be unaffected by rain or wet conditions;
(3) At least one (1) and no more than two (2) battery-operated head lamps capable of projecting a beam of white light for a distance of three hundred feet (300 ft.) in front of the pedicab, under normal atmospheric conditions at the times that use of the head lamp is required;
(4) Battery-operated tail lamps mounted on the rear of the pedicab, which, when operated, shall emit a red beam of light visible from a distance of five hundred feet (500 ft.) to the rear, under normal atmospheric conditions at the times that use of the head lamp is required;
(5) Turn lights;
(6) A bell or other device capable of giving a signal audible for a distance of at least one hundred feet (100 ft.); and
(7) Reflectors on the spokes of the wheels of the pedicab.
(d) Reflective tape that meets the following requirements shall be affixed on the side and back of the pedicab:
(1) The tape shall be at least two inches (2 in.) wide;
(2) The tape shall be at least twelve inches (12 in.) long; and
(3) There shall be at least two (2) pieces of tape on each side and on the back of the pedicab.
1213.4 Each pedicab shall be operated in accordance with the following provisions:
(a) The maximum number of passengers a pedicab may transport shall not exceed the number of available seats;
(b) All passengers shall be seated while the pedicab is in motion;
(c) All passengers shall have a seatbelt securely fastened while the pedicab is in motion. This requirement shall be clearly displayed to pedicab passengers;
(d) A pedicab shall not be operated on a roadway with a posted speed limit of more than thirty miles per hour (30 mph);
(e) A pedicab may not be operated or parked on a sidewalk;
(f) Pedicab passengers shall be loaded and off-loaded while the pedicab is stopped;
(g) No pedicab operator shall stop to load or unload passengers on the traffic side of the street, while occupying any intersection or crosswalk, or in such a manner as to unduly interfere with the orderly flow of traffic. All pedicab operators shall pull as close to the curb or edge of the roadway as possible to take on or discharge passengers;
(h) A pedicab shall not be parked in any restricted zones identified for other vehicles, including, but not limited to, parking meter zones, residential permit parking zones, valet parking zones, bus zones, taxicab zones;
(i) A pedicab shall not be tied, cabled, or otherwise attached to a parking meter, street light pole, or other public space asset;
(j) At any time from one half (1/2) hour after sunset to one-half (1/2) hour before sunrise, and at any other time when, due to insufficient light or unfavorable atmospheric conditions, persons and vehicles on the highway are not clearly discernible at a distance of five hundred feet (500 ft.) ahead, a pedicab shall be operated with a headlamp of sufficient intensity to reveal a person or a vehicle three hundred feet (300 ft.); and
(k) At any time from one half (1/2) hour after sunset to one-half (1/2) hour before sunrise, and at any other time when, due to insufficient light or unfavorable atmospheric conditions, persons and vehicles on the highway are not clearly discernible at a distance of five hundred feet (500 ft.) ahead, a pedicab shall be operated with tail lamps capable of being seen from a distance of five hundred feet (500 ft.).
1213.5 No one shall operate or be in control of a pedicab while the person's alcohol concentration is eight hundredths of a gram (0.08 g.) or more either per one hundred milliliters (100 ml.) of blood or per two hundred and ten liters (210 L.) of breath or is one tenth of a gram (0.10 g.) or more per one hundred milliliters (100 ml.) of urine, or while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug or any combination thereof, or while the ability to operate a vehicle is impaired by the consumption of intoxicating liquor.
Chapter 99 (Definitions), section 9901 is amended by amending the definition for Pedicabs to read as follows:
Pedicab – a bicycle with a single frame that connects two (2) rear wheels and one (1) front wheel that is designed to be ridden by one (1) or more persons, that transports, or is capable of transporting, passengers on seats attached to the bicycle, and that is used for transporting passengers for hire.
