Define the device by what it does, not by what it looks like
A whole class, written by functionPEVRA has written this text
The template every other one on this page is a shortcut for: a device class defined by weight, speed and motor power, with no clause that counts wheels, requires handlebars or requires a floorboard.
Almost every micromobility definition in force today was written by describing a picture. "Two nontandem wheels." "Handlebars." "A floorboard that can be stood upon." A device with one wheel and no handlebars matches none of them, so it falls out of every class the legislature wrote and lands in the leftover class — usually "motor vehicle" — which it can never be registered as, because it does not comply with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, the federal rules a vehicle must meet before a state can title and register it as a motor vehicle.
No legislator voted for that outcome. It is a drafting accident, and it is repaired by describing what a device does rather than what it resembles.
The three tests that actually matter
- Weight, because weight is what a person walking gets hurt by.
- Speed, because speed is what a road engineer designs for.
- Motor power, because power is the proxy for both that a police officer can read off a label.
A definition built from those three reaches a one-wheeled device, a two-wheeled device and whatever gets built next, without being reopened.
Draft text
PEVRA’s own drafting. Bracketed numbers are the ones a legislature chooses. Copy it, change it, put your own name on it — that is what it is for.
"Personal electric mobility device" means a device that: (1) is designed to transport one person; (2) is propelled by an electric motor, with or without human propulsion; (3) weighs less than [100] pounds without a rider; (4) has a motor-propelled maximum speed on a paved level surface of not more than [28] miles per hour; and (5) has a motor with a continuous power output of not more than [750] watts. A personal electric mobility device is not a motor vehicle, a motorcycle, a moped or an off-highway vehicle, and is not required to be registered, titled or insured as one. Nothing in this section shall be construed to classify a device by the number of its wheels, by the presence or absence of handlebars, by the presence or absence of a floorboard, or by the presence or absence of a seat.
What the law already says
Each quotation below comes from a citation record in PEVRA’s database, with that record’s evidence tier and the date its own source prints.
A device weighing less than 100 pounds, with 2 or 3 wheels, handlebars, and a floorboard that can be stood upon while riding, that is solely powered by an electric motor and human power, and whose maximum speed, with or without human propulsion, is no more than 10 miles per hour.
625 ILCS 5/1-140.11 (definition of "low-speed electric scooter")Tier C — secondary source; context only, never supports a verdictThe source prints no date of its ownThis publisher blocks automated readers — a steward must open it in a browser.
Illinois' low-speed electric scooter definition is the shape test in its purest form: two or three wheels, handlebars, and a floorboard, all three required at once. A one-wheeled device fails all three in one sentence.
two or three wheels ... handlebars, a floorboard
RCW 46.04.336 ("Motorized foot scooter") — the shape test an electric unicycle failsTier C — secondary source; context only, never supports a verdictThe source prints no date of its own
Washington's motorized foot scooter definition repeats the same three-part shape test, which is why an electric unicycle in Washington has to reach for a different class entirely.
UNICYCLE. "Unicycle" means A. Every device propelled by human power, upon which any person may ride, having one wheel, pedals, and a saddle; and B. Every device upon which a person may ride that is equipped with one wheel and a motor of no more than seven hundred fifty (750) watts and that has any of the following additional characteristics, or combination thereof: stationary foot plates, pedals, a saddle, handlebars. C. Devices with motors outputting more than 750 watts or that can achieve a maximum speed of more than 28 mph are motor vehicles. D. Unicycles described in paragraph B are also called "electric unicycles."
Santa Fe UTO § 12-1-86.5 — "unicycle" and "electric unicycle" definition and the 750 W / 28 mph ceilingTier A — the jurisdiction’s own official publicationLaw as of 2023-08-30
Santa Fe shows the function test working in a real adopted ordinance. The sentence quoted here — the motor-power ceiling and the speed ceiling — mentions nothing about wheels; the section it comes from does define the device as a "unicycle" elsewhere, so the wheel-free property belongs to this specific sentence, not to the section as a whole.
Drafting notes
PEVRA's own position on where these three thresholds should land is on this page's parent, /act/model-law; this template states the shape of the definition, not the numbers.
Clause (5) is the only clause a drafter should expect to be contested by a fire marshal rather than by a traffic engineer, because it is doing double duty as a battery-size proxy. A jurisdiction that regulates batteries separately can drop it.
The [28] mph figure in clause (4) is a classification threshold: it decides which legal class a device falls into, not a limit the device itself must obey while it is being ridden. PEVRA's own position opposes a mandated built-in device speed cap and supports a rider speed limit set separately, by facility.
Education, not a request. This page states what the law says and what PEVRA has drafted; it asks nothing of you. All templates · Common objections, answered
Template last changed 2026-08-29 · git c35aac7
This page is legal information, not legal advice, and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Nothing here should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a legal opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of law. PEVRA does not warrant that this information is complete or accurate and disclaims all liability for any loss caused by errors or omissions. Laws change; check the 'as of' date and the official source linked on every claim.