Bicycles, Scooters, and Other Personal Conveyance Vehicles

Scope

All Indiana University property.

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Policy Statement

1. Access to and egress from university facilities shall not be impeded by personal conveyance vehicles. Personal conveyance vehicles shall not be operated, parked, or stored on university property in an unsafe manner that endangers persons or property. No personal conveyance vehicles shall be operated inside a building unless authorized by the Office of Insurance, Loss Control & Claims (INLOCC).
2. This policy does not apply to wheelchairs or other personal mobility devices as defined by the ADA (https:// adata.org/factsheet/wheelchairs) or to personal conveyance vehicles operated by the IU Police Department. However, personal mobility devices must always be operated in a safe manner.

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Reason for Policy

In the interest of public health and safety, access to and egress from university facilities must not be impeded by obstacles. In addition, personal conveyance vehicles must be operated, parked, and stored in a safe manner for the operator as well as for those around them.

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Procedures

This policy supplements other University and campus policies concerning where bicycles may be parked and only supersedes them when it is more restrictive.

1. The operation, parking, and storage of personal conveyance vehicles is prohibited in all interior building spaces; on all stairways, steps, ledges, benches, planting areas, any other fixtures; and in any other posted area unless authorized by INLOCC, in consultation with the building manager.  Occupants of university-owned housing (residence halls, apartments, and rental houses) are subject to the rules and regulations related to the particular unit they occupy with regard to personal conveyance vehicles they own.  Vendor-owned personal conveyance vehicle are prohibited from operation, parking or storage in university residence halls, apartments, and rental houses.
2. Unless prohibited by an ordinance promulgated by the city in which a campus is located, motorized scooters may be operated on the sidewalks adjacent to and within the campus. If any city in which a university campus is located subsequently adopts an ordinance governing the operation of motorized scooters, motorized scooters at that campus must be operated in accordance with the city ordinance.
3. Operators must move at a safe speed and yield to pedestrians at all times. An operator who collides with a pedestrian is required to stop and provide the pedestrian with the operator’s contact information, including name, cell phone number and email address. The operator is required to call IUPD if the pedestrian is injured or if there is property damage, including damage to university buildings or landscape.
4. Bicycles and motorized scooters must have a working headlight and tail light from dusk to dawn.
5. Reckless or negligent operation of personal conveyance vehicles on any part of campus is prohibited.
6. Personal conveyance vehicles outside of buildings, with the exception of those powered by internal combustion engines, must be parked in bike racks, cannot be parked or left on grass surfaces, and must not in any way obstruct any ADA access, sidewalk, street, trail, path, ramp or other routes of pedestrian or vehicular traffic. Personal conveyance vehicles powered by internal combustion engines (e.g., motorcycles, mopeds, and some motorized scooters) must be parked on surface parking lots or in parking garages.
7. If the operation of a personal conveyance vehicle in a building is authorized by INLOCC, it must be parked or stored only where designated by INLOCC, in consultation with the building manager and/or the campus police department.
8. In the event of emergency evacuation, personal conveyance vehicles that have been brought inside in violation of this policy will be removed to avoid impediments to the movement of people trying to exit the building.
9. Personal conveyance vehicles that pose a hazard to public health and safety or that are parked or stored on university property in violation of this policy may be removed and impounded by campus officials. The owner of the personal conveyance vehicle is liable for all damages incurred, including the cost of cut locks and payment of fees to retrieve from impoundment.
10. The owner of a personal conveyance vehicle is liable for any injuries or damages arising from the personal conveyance vehicle being inside a building, because of where and how it is secured outside a building, and how it is operated on university property.
11. Personal conveyance vehicles with internal combustion engines (e.g., motorcycles, mopeds, some motorized scooters) or that have been determined to pose an unacceptable risk of fire (self-balancing scooters (hoverboards)) shall not be allowed inside buildings - other than buildings specifically intended for vehicles with engines - at any time.

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Definitions

Personal Conveyance Vehicles shall include bicycles and other vehicles powered by the individual, by motor or by batteries that may be operated off-street. These include but are not limited to scooters, motorized scooters, motorcycles, Segways, roller blades, roller skates, skateboards, motorized skateboards, and self-balancing scooters (hoverboards).  Golf carts are expressly excluded from the definition of personal conveyance vehicles. The operation of golf carts on university property is governed by FIN-INS-03 and its attached procedures.

Indiana University Property – Buildings, grounds, and land that are owned by Indiana University or controlled by Indiana University via leases or other formal contractual arrangements to house ongoing university operations.

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Sanctions

Anyone violating this policy will be subject to having the personal conveyance vehicle removed and impounded as well as being subject to corrective action procedures contained in Indiana University's staff, academic, or student policies, as applicable.

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History

This policy was established on September 20, 2002.

A substantive review of the policy was conducted by the Office of Insurance, Loss Control & Claims and minor non-substantive changes were made in May 2023.

In July 2024, a reference to the renamed IU Indianapolis campus was updated in this policy.

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