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For a few years now, small electric scooters have been whizzing around the streets and causing a lot of commotion - e-scooters. For many, they are a great relief, but for others they are more of a nuisance and, above all, a risk factor. Unfortunately, many people do not use them properly and, as a result of this incorrect use, obstruct road traffic and other road users to a large extent. Even though some cities and municipalities have already found ways to counteract these problems, a uniform standard is to be created under European law so that a corresponding safety standard prevails across the board, as the European Transport Safety Council points out. This particular problem was highlighted by accident statistics of micromobility devices. Within one year, a number of personal injuries and property damage were caused by the use of scooters in the vast majority of countries - the number increased by almost 2000 from 2021 to 2022 and there is probably a very high number of unreported cases of damage that have not been publicised at all.

In a very recent report ‘Improving the Road Safety of E-Scooters - PIN Flash Report 47’, the European Road Safety Council explains which measures should be regulated more precisely. Primarily, a minimum age of 16 years should be prescribed for use. Users should already have an appropriate level of insight into road traffic so as not to have a negative impact on it. There should be a certain amount of knowledge about behaviour in road traffic. This also includes the prohibition of using a mobile phone ‘at the wheel’ in order to be able to behave properly and prudently in traffic. Of course, this also includes the non-use of e-scooters under the influence of alcohol and/or intoxication. This applies to the use of any motor vehicle - be it a car, a bicycle or a scooter. It is therefore not an unknown fact. The e-scooters should only be able to travel at a maximum speed of 20 km/h, which they can exceed. They can currently travel at speeds of up to 25 or 30 km/h. Acceleration should also be limited at this point so that they remain easy to control and see. This means that it can quickly happen that an e-scooter suddenly appears and is overlooked. They will also be equipped with independent front and rear lights. What has not yet become established for bicycles is now to become mandatory here. The European Road Safety Council is calling for helmets to be compulsory. While some points are already covered by the Ordinance on Small Electric Vehicles, the regulations are to be extended accordingly in order to improve road safety and to be able to organise it in the best possible way. The federal states can still deviate from this regulation. However, this situation is to be reformed with the help of the standardised solution under European law.

The German Road Safety Council agrees with this and supports the comments in every respect. However, the minimum technical vehicle requirements such as the aforementioned independently acting brakes, clearly visible lighting and, in particular, direction indicators are particularly important here.

Incidentally, there is hope that if the Ordinance on Small Electric Vehicles is amended and the regulations are standardised, there will also be a greater focus on the use of electric vehicles.

 

Source: Pixabay/electric-scooters-6954943_1280