Float History

Around 8:00pm EST (local), a long standing Thursday night group ride of over 60 riders on a variety of electric vehicles in St. Petersburg, Florida was targeted by the City of St. Petersburg Police Department in an organized sting at Beach Dr NE between 8th Ave NE and 7th Ave NE. Over 17 officers responded and systematically handed out 24 citations – 20 citations for one wheels and electric unicycles, 2 citations for electric bicycles, and 2 citations for electric scooters that violated state statues. All citations that Float History has been provided cite Section 316.2065(11) of Florida State Law.

Section 316.2065(11) reads “No person upon roller skates, or riding in or by means of any coaster, toy vehicle, or similar device, may go upon any roadway except while crossing a street on a crosswalk […]“.

The St. Petersburg Police Department cites St. Petersburg, Florida Municode Article VI Section 26-284 as establishing “motorized skateboards, motorized roller skates, hoverboards, hoverskates, hovershoes, one-wheeled electric boards, or other similar devices” as “motorized toy vehicles”.

However, this citation appears to be in conflict with Section 316.2128(1) of Florida State Law, which reads “The operator of a motorized scooter or micromobility device has all of the rights and duties applicable to the rider of a bicycle under s. 316.2065 […]” or, for riders whose devices qualify as their electric personal assistive mobility devices, Section 316.2068(1)(a), which reads “(1) An electric personal assistive mobility device, as defined in s. 316.003, may be operated: (a) On a road or street where the posted speed limit is 25 miles per hour or less.”

State preemption should preclude the City of St. Petersburg from exercising authority in a way that is inconsistent with the state constitution or statutes, so it is unclear if these tickets would hold if challenged in court.

When asked for comment, the St. Petersburg Police Department provided the following statement:

“The Police Department has received complaints about [the] ride group blocking traffic, riding in lanes of opposite traffic, and ignoring traffic signals. Our officers met with [the] group this summer to explain the state laws and local ordinances. Electric uni-wheels/unicycles are not permitted on roadways or sidewalks. Motorized scooters and e-bicycles that can travel above 28 m.p.h. are considered motor vehicles and must be registered with the DMV, insured, and the rider must have a driver’s license.”

Contrary to the provided comment and comments from officers present on the night of the sting, recordings of the previous meeting 2 months ago between the ride group and the St. Petersburg Police Department show officers placing an emphasis on illegal dirt bikes being the issue with the group ride previously. Multiple one wheel electric skateboards and electric unicycles were present during this prior meeting and were not emphasized as an issue nor issued a citation.

The targeted enforcement follows a string of 3 e-bike related deaths in the previous weeks which the St. Petersburg Police Department stated “[involved] e-bike riders who were not obeying traffic signals or the rules of the road.”

(source 1, source 2, source 3, source 4)

This is not legal advice. Please consult your lawyer for questions regarding Florida state law or St. Petersburg city ordinances and how they might apply or be litigated. A freedom of information act request from the community is pending for additional details.

If you received a citation related to this event and plan on fighting the ticket in court, I’d love to hear from you.