South Carolina § 56-1-1720 - Licensing requirement; minimum age; violations and penalties.

§ 56-1-1720. Licensing requirement; minimum age; violations and penalties.

(A) To operate a moped on public highways, a person must possess a valid driver's license issued under Article 1 of this chapter or a valid moped operator's license issued under this article. The department may issue a moped operator's license to a person who is fifteen years of age or older.

(B) A person younger than sixteen years of age with a moped operator's license may operate a moped:

(1) alone during daylight hours only; and

(2) during nighttime hours when accompanied by a licensed driver twenty-one years of age or older who has had at least one year of driving experience. The accompanying driver must be a passenger or within a safe viewing distance of the operator when the operator is operating a moped.

(C) A person sixteen years of age or older with a moped license may drive a moped alone any time.

(D) A person who operates a moped in violation of the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction of a first offense, must be fined not more than one hundred dollars and, upon conviction of a second or subsequent offense, must be fined not more than two hundred dollars.

HISTORY: 1986 Act No. 528, SECTION 1; 2017 Act No. 89 (H.3247), SECTION 7, eff November 19, 2018.

Effect of Amendment

2017 Act No. 89, SECTION 7, amended the section, revising the form of licensure a person must possess to operate a moped, and deleting the provision that prohibits the Department from issuing a beginner's permit or a special restricted license to certain persons convicted of a moped violation for a certain period of time.