Isophoric News · Tuesday, October 27, 2026
Oswego's new e-scooter law requires police to impound a device when a child 16 or younger is found riding it in violation
Oswego's new law on electric bicycles and electric scooters says a device "shall be impounded" by police when a child 16 years or younger operates it in violation of the law, and riding any e-bike or e-scooter under age 16 is itself a violation, so on the law's face a child found riding one is enough; no other offense is needed. The chapter also has a general provision, covering any rider of any age, that says a device found to be operated in violation "may be immediately seized and impounded," which leaves that to an officer's judgment; for a rider 16 or younger, it is the other provision that says the device "shall be impounded." Those are what the law requires and permits, not a report of what has happened: officers still decide whom to stop, and we have not asked the city whether any device has been impounded or any ticket issued. The law, Chapter 107 of the City Code and Local Law No. 2 of 2026, took effect on filing with the New York Secretary of State, which according to the stamp on the filing was Oct. 5. The Common Council passed it 7-0 on Sept. 28 as Resolution 315, the mayor approved it and it was deemed adopted Sept. 29, and at the Sept. 28 hearing the city attorney told the council the effective date would not be known until the state returned notice of the filing.
Under the law, parents or guardians of the child are to be notified to appear at the police department to get the device back, and the law says "It shall not be a defense that the child operates such device owned by a third party," so a borrowed or gifted device is impounded all the same. To redeem a device the owner must show proof of ownership and pay a redemption fee, set separately from any fine, of $100 for a first violation, $500 for a second within one year and $750 for a third or later within two years, "in addition to any fines, surcharges, impound, storage, towing, or other authorized costs." For any operator under 18, the law says the parent or legal guardian "shall be notified of the seizure and impoundment," and that a summons may be issued to the parent or guardian where state law authorizes it. A device is released only to its lawful owner or an agent with a written, notarized authorization or a valid power of attorney, and if it is not claimed within 60 days after notice is mailed, the city "may sell, auction, destroy, or otherwise dispose of" it under the city's surplus property provisions.
The rest of the law covers who may ride and where. It bars anyone under 16 from operating or riding as a passenger on an e-bike or e-scooter and bars anyone 16 or older from knowingly allowing it. Riders and passengers who are 16 and 17 must wear an approved helmet, and the city "strongly encourages helmet use by all E-bike and E-scooter riders, regardless of age." E-bikes and e-scooters may not be ridden on sidewalks anywhere in the city except to enter or leave a driveway or roadway, and then only at walking speed. Class 1 and class 2 e-bikes may be ridden on city streets posted at 30 mph or less, in designated bike lanes and on multi-use paths where bicycles are allowed, at no more than 20 mph, and e-scooters on streets posted at 30 mph or less and in bike lanes at no more than 15 mph. Class 3 e-bikes are prohibited in the city. Between half an hour after sunset and half an hour before sunrise, every e-bike and e-scooter must have a white front light visible from at least 500 feet and a red rear light or reflector visible from at least 300 feet, riders must yield the right of way to pedestrians at all times, and groups must ride single file unless briefly overtaking. The law also bars carrying more than one person on an e-scooter, carrying anything that keeps a hand off the handlebars or blocks the rider's view, attaching a device or oneself to a moving motor vehicle, riding while impaired by alcohol or drugs, and modifying a device to go faster than its class allows.
Devices may not be parked on sidewalks in a way that blocks pedestrians or obstructs curb ramps, doorways, fire hydrants or transit stops, and no shared e-bike or e-scooter system, dockless or station-based, may operate in the city unless the Common Council expressly authorizes it by local law or resolution; any authorization may cover permits or franchises, insurance, data privacy and use limits, fleet size, parking locations and user education. The city police department and other authorized law enforcement or code enforcement personnel enforce the law, and officers may issue appearance tickets, summonses or civil citations. Except "where state law prescribes a different penalty (including civil fines under Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1282)," fines are up to $100 for a first offense, up to $250 for a second within 12 months and up to $500 for a third or later within 12 months, and each day of a continuing violation may be treated as a separate offense.
The chapter sits beside state law that covers the same ground, and the two can be read side by side. State law says no one under 16 may operate an electric scooter or an e-bike (Vehicle and Traffic Law §§ 1282(4) and 1242(2)), so the chapter is not penalizing something the state allows younger children to do, and state law says no one under 16 may ride as a passenger on a scooter and no one 16 or older may allow it. State law also lets a city "further regulate the time, place and manner of the operation" of both devices, "limit, prohibit the use thereof in specified areas, or prohibit entirely" their use within the city if signs are posted (§§ 1242(3)(a) and 1281(2)(a)). The chapter says it is adopted under those provisions, that it is "intended to supplement, not conflict with" state law, and that "Where a conflict appears, state law shall control" (§ 107-12), and it carries a severability clause.
On money, the chapter sets fines of up to $100, $250 and $500 "except where state law prescribes a different penalty," and adds its redemption fee of $100, $500 or $750 on top of "any fines, surcharges, impound, storage, towing, or other authorized costs." State law provides that a violation of certain listed provisions of the e-bike section (§ 1242(12), subdivisions 2, 5, 6, 9 or 10) or of the scooter section (§ 1282(11), subdivisions 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 or 7) "shall result in a civil fine not to exceed fifty dollars." Neither section, as the newsroom read them, mentions seizure or impoundment. The newsroom read only those sections, §§ 1281, 1242 and 1282, and the two the chapter also cites, §§ 1680 and 1682, which concern traffic control devices; it did not read the rest of the Vehicle and Traffic Law or other state law, and the city may rely on authority outside what was read, or treat a redemption fee as cost recovery and not a fine. Isophoric News put questions to the city on Oct. 23 about where the impoundment power comes from and how the redemption fee relates to the state's civil fine ceiling.
On summonses, state law provides that a police officer "shall only issue a summons" for a violation by a person under 16 to the parent or guardian "if the violation by such person occurs in the presence of such person's parent or guardian" and the parent or guardian is 18 or older, and that the summons "shall not be issued to the person less than sixteen years of age" (§§ 1242(13) and 1282(12)). The chapter says a summons to a parent or guardian is to be issued "consistent with state law," and separately that the parents or guardians of a child whose device is impounded are to be notified to appear at the police department to get it released, which is not a summons.
The chapter also uses an age threshold of its own. Its mandatory impoundment applies to "a child 16 years or younger" who operates a device "in violation of this chapter and/or the Vehicle and Traffic Law," and state law sets 16 as the lowest age to operate one, so a 16-year-old who rides lawfully is not in the mandatory category unless there is another violation; a 16-year-old riding without the helmet the chapter requires of 16 and 17 year olds is in the category, while a 17-year-old with the same violation falls only under the general provision that says "may." Isophoric News put questions to the city on Oct. 23 about where the impoundment power comes from and how the redemption fee relates to the state's $50 civil fine ceiling; the mayor replied on Oct. 26, directing the newsroom to file a request under the Freedom of Information Law to obtain the information requested, and the questions were not answered. The newsroom has not asked how the age provisions fit together. Before that, the newsroom had asked the City Clerk's office only for the text of the law, which it supplied. The penalty and impoundment provisions described here appear in the copy filed with the state; a companion item reports where the complete text of the law can and cannot be read.
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Documents
- Local Law No. 2 of 2026, as filed with the New York Department of State, stamped 2026-10-05 (the state's filed copy, missing chapter page 4 of 6) Download · Original
- Common Council agenda, September 28, 2026 Download · Original
- Chapter 107 of the City Code, Local Law No. 2 of 2026, as supplied to the newsroom by the City Clerk Download