Scooter News

Dallas Police Department starts writing tickets for scooter scofflaws

The DPD is putting scooter riders on notice.

Photo courtesy of Razor Share

The Dallas Police Department has stepped up enforcement on electric scooters and will now start writing tickets if riders are found to be breaking the law.

Scooters arrived in Dallas in 2018 and have proven to be a hazard in busy areas such as downtown Dallas and Deep Ellum.

In a press conference on July 31, Deputy Chief Thomas Castro said that the goal is to keep people safe.

"We're not here to try to ruin anybody's evening," Castro said. "We're not here to try to put a financial burden on someone. We're here to keep people safe, and that's our overall goal."

"Most of our enforcement, I would probably say would take place during the week, when it's not as busy," Castro said. "Not saying we won't take enforcement on the weekends, but probably primarily throughout the week so we can gain, hopefully, education and compliance."

Scooters are supposed to be ridden on the street, not on sidewalks, which seems to be the biggest issue drawing complaints. Riders must follow traffic laws, with only one person on each scooter, and anyone under 17 must wear a helmet.

According to CBS 11, the first citation was issued on July 28 in downtown Dallas to a rider accused of running a red light, and about a dozen more citations were issued in Deep Ellum Tuesday for offenses such as not stopping at stop signs and going the wrong way.

Signs are also being posted in populous areas.

transportation traffic

Weed News

Texas AG Ken Paxton sues Dallas over decriminalization of marijuana

Photo courtesy of US Fish & Wildlife

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The City of Dallas has been sued by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for its efforts to decriminalize marijuana.

According to a release, Paxton has sued the city for adopting a city charter amendment that would decriminalize marijuana-related offenses and prohibit police from enforcing Texas law.

That amendment was Proposition R, or Dallas Freedom Act, which decriminalizes possession of four ounces of marijuana or less. Voters passed the amendment in the November 5 election, with 67 percent voting in favor.

The lawsuit, filed against the Dallas City Council, alleges that Proposition R is unconstitutional and violates Texas drug laws criminalizing any amount of marijuana.

Paxton says that cities can't "pick and choose which state laws to follow." He's proposing a permanent injunction to stop Proposition R from going into effect.

"The City of Dallas has no authority to override Texas drug laws or prohibit the police from enforcing them," says Paxton in a statement. "This is a backdoor attempt to violate the Texas Constitution, and any city that tries to constrain police in this fashion will be met swiftly with a lawsuit by my office.”

Before the recent election, possession of two to four ounces of marijuana could result in a punishment of 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Ground Game Texas, the activist nonprofit that has also helped get marijuana decriminalization on the ballot in elections across Texas, first got the issue on the ballot in July with the necessary 50,000 signatures.

Dallas is not the only city to be sued; Paxton also filed lawsuits against five other cities in Austin, Denton, Elgin, Killeen, and San Marcos in January for their ballots and policies decriminalizing marijuana.

Both Austin and San Marcos had a judge overturn their cases, according to a FOX 4 report.

marijuana