SAN DIEGO -- The City Council Tuesday tentatively approved more stringent regulations on pedicabs in an accelerated effort to bolster safety for passengers in the wake of the death of a convention attendee who fell from one of the pedal-driven vehicles.

The council voted unanimously to amend the city's existing ordinance regulating pedicabs and operators. If approved on second reading, the change would prohibit pedicabs from city sidewalks and on streets with speed limits over 25 miles per hour.

The revised ordinance would establish restricted zones in downtown and the beach areas; require operators to clearly post information about fares; mandate that seatbelts are used by pedicab customers; and reduce the number of permits granted for pedicabs in the city to 250, down from 400.

Pedicab operators contended the new regulations will not solve the problem, which they argued is the proliferation of drivers recruited from other countries and here on temporary work visas.

"These proposed changes are merely going to be a Band-Aid on a gushing wound of a problem," Shane Frazier testified. Operators argued that the city should consider an operator permit cap, not just limit the number of pedicabs. There was also concern expressed about creating a monopoly.

Others said limiting pedicabs to roads with a speed limit under 25-mile-per-hour would make it difficult to get to destinations. Steven Johnson, vice president of public affairs for the San Diego Convention Center Corp., testified that there are significant public safety issues related to pedicabs.

"The recent pedicab fatality of an out-of-town visitor attending the National Education Association's annual meeting at the Convention Center is a tragic example, but only the latest in a series of pedicab-related accidents that have impacted our guests," Johnson said.

Sharon Miller, A 60-year-old retired teacher from Illinois in town for the convention, fell from a pedicab in the Marina area on the Fourth of July. She suffered a head injury and later died.

A 23-year-old resident of Turkey, who was in the country on a work visa, was arrested in connection with Miller's death, but charges were later dropped.

Following the death, Councilwoman Marti Emerald called for an expedited City Council hearing on tougher pedicab laws.

Emerald described the pedicab business as a "scam" that takes advantage of young people from Third World countries, by luring them to San Diego and then making them pay to rent the vehicles.

"That's a terrible business model," Emerald said. "It's a business model that sets up young people to be ripped off, sets up consumers to be ripped off, and ultimately what we are finding, creates a safety problem that could impact any of us at any given time."

She directed the City Attorney's Office to study the idea of a cap on the number of pedicab operator permits and return to possibly further amend the ordinance in the future.

City Council members indicated they may also seek state legislation that would require pedicab operators to have a valid California drivers license.