MISHAWAKA — You may have noticed more mopeds on city streets lately. Local scooter dealers say their sales are higher than ever. The reason — high gas prices.

South Bend firefighter Brian McLaughlin used to drive to work in an extended cab pickup truck. But now, he drives a scooter.

"I'm sure it looks ridiculous, somebody 6-feet-2-inches [tall] riding something like that," he told WSBT.

Ridiculous or not, he's saving money. McLaughlin says his moped holds a gallon and a half of gas, and one tank will get him back and forth to work for about two months.

Mclaughlin is becoming part of a national and local trend.

Action Cycle owner Bob Bean says he's selling mopeds to nurses at Memorial Hospital, workers on the Indiana Toll Road and city workers.

The incentive with mopeds is the gas mileage. Cars and small trucks average 25 miles per gallon (mpg) on the highway, according to Fuel Economy.gov. Local moped dealers say scooters average 100 mpg.

Bean says business has never been this good. His sales are more than double what they were a year ago.

Just down McKinley Ave at Ed's Cycle, Ed Durrell says booming moped sales forced him to hire two more employees. His sales increased about 35 percent from last year.

"We're having a hard time assembling them as fast as they're going out the door," said Durrell. "[It's] kind of an unusual problem."

"A dozen years ago, people that rode scooters [were] 15-year=old kids or people that didn't have a license," said Action Cycle's Bob Bean.

But people like Brian Mclaughlin are changing those stereotypes.

"I don't think anybody believed that I was going to buy one," he told WSBT.

When friends and family make fun of him, Mclaughlin admits he laughs a little too. But he also feels smart.

"They get great gas mileage, why not?"

In Indiana, moped drivers are supposed to follow a few laws:

- Moped drivers must be at least 15 years old. If they're under 18 they must wear protective head gear and protective goggles, glasses or a transparent face shield.
- They must to have a valid driver's license or current state ID card with them.
- The moped cannot be driven on Interstate Highways or at speeds faster than 25 mph.
- Most mopeds do not need license plates, but if the cylinder capacity is bigger than 50 cubic centimeters, it's considered a motorcycle and does need license plates.

You can read all the laws on p. 13 of the BMV Driver's Manual (pdf).