The Texas Senate on Wednesday approved a bill that would crack down on increasingly popular motorized scooters, including setting speed limits and banning the use of rented scooters on sidewalks.

Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, said the changes were needed to improve safety for a rapidly growing, but largely unregulated, transportation option.

"We are beginning to see more and more accidents that are occurring on the electrical scooters," West said. "A lot of sidewalks and roadways were not designed for this particular purpose."

Several senators agreed.

"It's like the wild, Wild West out there, without rules," said Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, adding that he has watched scooter riders ignore red lights and motor the wrong way on one-way streets.

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Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, said riding motorized scooters on sidewalks was particularly dangerous.

"I personally, here in Austin, almost have been hit three times — very close calls — by scooters, not because I wasn't paying attention ... but because someone came so unexpectedly, and at such a high rate of speed," Huffman said.

Approved 20-11, Senate Bill 549 next goes to the House.

Under the legislation:

• You must be 16 or older to operate a rented motorized scooter.

• Only one person at a time could operate a scooter.

• Speeds may not exceed 15 miles per hour for a standing scooter, or 20 mph "if the person is seated."

• A scooter operator must yield the right of way to pedestrians.

• A scooter could not be parked in a way that obstructs a sidewalk, path, road or any feature designed to help people with a disability.

• Rented scooters could not be driven on sidewalks, though privately owned scooters could under an amendment that was added Wednesday by Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills.

• Scooters could be driven on roads without a bike lane only if the speed limit is 35 mph or lower and the scooter is ridden "as near as practicable" to the curb.

Violations could be punished by a fine of up to $200.

If enacted, the bill would not prohibit cities and counties from enacting tougher regulations, such as requiring a safety helmet or further limiting where scooters can be ridden or parked. Cities and counties also would be free to raise the minimum age of riders and impose higher fines for violations.