WASHINGTON D.C., DC — Complaints about dangerous driving following a surge of unregistered mopeds in D.C. prompted a police crackdown known as Operation Ride Right.
The special enforcement that started last month has resulted in at least 273 scooters being impounded and 161 infractions, according to police.
A police spokesperson says they plan to continue with the program, including community outreach and enforcement.
Food delivery drivers who operate in the Tenleytown neighborhood of Northwest D.C. told WUSA9 they think the enhanced enforcement has made a difference.
"We weren't doing things the right way because we didn't know the laws, you understand? But thanks to the enforcement, we are on top of it. We have the proper documents that we need to keep working the right way," Pedro Herrera told WUSA9.
Herrera says taking away their mode of transportation is a hard hit for workers like him who depend solely on their mopeds. He says he recently learned a lesson when he was robbed of his phone and moped last week.
Operation Ride Right has also resulted in 81 arrests; the majority are for driving with no permit, which is considered a misdemeanor traffic offense under the DC code.
With many of the food delivery drivers being recently arrived asylum seekers, immigration lawyer Jose Campos says the consequences for this offense have a greater impact on immigrants.
"It is a criminal offense, and yes it does affect someone's immigration status. However, the likelihood that somebody is going to be deported or somebody is going to be denied an application because of this, it's small. An accumulation of misdemeanors could be very bad for them," Campos said.
Immigration experts, consulted by WUSA9, say that because D.C., Maryland, and Virginia offer driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants, having charges for driving with no permit on someone's record, can appear as a disregard of the law in front of an immigration judge.
The District's focus on enforcement has prompted concerns from community activists like Abel Núñez who spoke out about legislation introduced by Councilmembers Brianne Nadeau and Charles Allen during a roundtable held last week.
Núñez says education is a good starting point to address the concerns about reckless driving.
"Teach them, and if they then they fail they continue to do bad behavior, then I do think we can come in with enforcement," he said following the hearing.
"You've got to have both. You've got to have both enforcement and education," CM Allen told WUSA9.
During the moped roundtable, DC officials said only an estimated 150 of these vehicles are registered.
"There is a large, large number of these vehicles they are not licensed, they are not registered, and so the legislation will bring more of these vehicles to follow these rules to have license and registration," Allen added.
A handful of food delivery drivers parked outside of a fast food restaurant in Tenleytown said they have registered their mopeds in the recent weeks.
When asked if he believed that driving without a license warranted an arrest, Herrera said, "You learn from your mistakes."