WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2003
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 5
Zach Straus/Kansan
Alicia Sanson, Phillipsburg junior, returns to the spot where her mo-ped was last parked before it was stolen. Sanson's vehicle vanished from in front of Hashinger Hall the week after school ended.
TRANSPORTATION
Mo-ped, scooter theft can be stopped easily
By Jennifer Wellington
jwellington@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Last March, Alicia Sanson, Phillipsburg junior, decided to make her dream a reality. The KU student purchased a 1983 maroon Trac mo-ped off eBay. Sanson paid $520 for her mo-ped, a fraction of a new mo-ped's retail price.
"I planned on selling it and using that money with the money I make this summer to buy a better one," she said.
But a week after school ended that May, Sanson noticed that her mo-ped was stolen from the bike rack at Hashinger Hall.
"I knew I was returning to the hall during the summer to work," she said. "I thought it would be safe."
Sanson had locked up her mo-ped and covered it with a tarp before she left. The person who stole her mo-ped cut the lock and left only the tarp, she said.
"I loved that bike," Sanson said. "It had pedals and a basket and everything."
Michael DeGraw, co-owner of Subsonic Scooters, 19 W. Ninth St., said most of the stolen mo-peds he knew about were recovered.
"People just used them until they ran out of gas and then left them," he said.
DeGraw advises all of his customers to buy a cable lock to protect their mo-peds because they do not have a security alarm like some scooters. He also recommends that his customers purchase insurance on
their mo-ped or scooter. He said liability insurance for mo-peds was $46 a year, and full coverage, which covers thefts, ran around $90 a year.
While Sanson had a lock for her moped, she didn't have insurance.
"I had just gotten it a few months earlier," she said. "I didn't think I would have to worry about it."
Theft of mo-peds valued over $500 could be considered felony theft, said Sgt. Mike Patrick of the Lawrence Police Department. The police department does not have an official number of how many mo-peds have been stolen in the last year.
Sanson filed a police report but her moped still had not been recovered.
The University's parking department requires that mo-peds be parked at motorcycle or bicycle racks. On campus, mopeds can only be driven on the street. For a mo-ped to get from the street to the bicycle rack, the owner must walk the mo-ped, said Donna Hultine, director of the parking department.
"I would like to get a new one, but I can't afford it right now," she said. "It sucks."
Major Chris Keary, assistant director of public safety, said that police officers could ticket students who drive their mopeds on campus sidewalks. The ticket consists of a $60 fine and a $32 court cost, for a total of $92, he said. Mo-ped permits are $20, Hultine said.
—Edited by Ehren Meditz
CORK BARREL
WINE AND SPIRITS
Summer Specials!
2000 W 23rd 331-4242
3514 Clinton Pkwy. 841-8778
6-01-03 thru 7-30-03
LIQUOR SPECIALS
Jose Cuervo
Liters $18.99
Knobb Creek Burbon
750 ml $16.99
Scoresby Scotch
1.75 L
$17.99
Bacardi Rum
Silver & Gold
1.75 L
$19.99
Beefeater Gin
1.75 L $25.99
Smirnoff 80 Proof
1.75 L $15.99
Crown Royal
750 ml
$19.99
Captain Program
ORIGINAL
SPICEDRUM
1.75 L $17.99
BEER SPECIALS
Pabst
Blue Ribbon
12 pk. cans
$5.49
Miller Light
30 pk. cans
$15.99
Odell Brewery
6 pk.
$4.99
Smirnoff Ice
12 pk.
$10.99
Boulevard Pale Ale &
Unfiltered Wheat
12 pk.
$9.99
Bass Ale
12 pk.
$9.99
WINE SPECIALS
SUTTER HOME
WINERY
750ml
All Flavors
$3.99
Kendall Jackson
Chardonnay
KENDALL JACKSON
$9.99
WOODBRIDGE
15L
All Flavors
$9.99