Middletown, OH Mobility & Curb Rules: Shared E-Scooter Rules (2026)

14, Low-Speed Micromobility Devices, is Middletown's local rule for scooters, shared e-scooters, and similar small electric devices. Division (a) permits operating one on public streets, highways, sidewalks, and shared-use paths, and on any part of a roadway set aside for bicycles, and applies the rest of the Traffic Code's rules to the device and its rider wherever it is operated. Operators owe pedestrians a strict duty: they must yield the right-of-way to every pedestrian at all times and give an audible signal before overtaking and passing one.

Night riding requires a front lamp visible for at least 500 feet and a rear reflector visible from 100 to 600 feet. Rental is restricted by age in three directions at once: no one under 16 may rent a device, no one may knowingly rent to a person under 16, and no one may knowingly rent one on behalf of a person under 16. Citywide, no device may exceed 20 miles per hour. Division (f) is the local-control clause behind any Middletown scooter-share program: the City, county, township, or a park or recreation district with jurisdiction may regulate or prohibit the devices on streets, sidewalks, and paths it controls, fold them into an existing bike-share or shared electric-bicycle program to widen access for people with physical limitations, and require a rental or sharing operator to carry commercial general liability insurance of up to $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 in the aggregate.