Filenews 23 April 2024 - by Despina Psillou
The lack of controls and compliance, in relation to the circulation of e-scooters, highlights a recent accident in Nicosia with journalist Dimitris Dermatas as the victim.
In his statements, he explained that while he was on his motorcycle, a scooter driver cut off his road and in his attempt to avoid it, he found himself dragging on the asphalt, today needing surgeries and hospitalization. Despite the fact that legislation was recently passed to regulate scooters, however, it seems that everything has remained on paper.
"I have a serious break in my leg and a very deep wound," Dermatas said, adding that it all happened on Griva Digeni Street. "I saw an electric scooter all the way left on the road and suddenly the driver decided to move all the way to the right. He didn't even turn to look. I was in the middle lane and he was in front of me."
His motorcycle touched the scooter and the driver fell to the ground without being injured. "Apart from the physical and psychological trauma, because I do not want to describe to you in what condition I saw my leg and my wounds, apart from the fact that I will be stuck for at least two months, I am also facing material damage, because I had a brand new motorbike that no one covers. I have to pay for everything out of my own pocket as I collided with an uninsured vehicle where it shouldn't be."
The fact that a legislation was passed that is not implemented and "it is as if it does not exist", underlined to "F" the Road Safety Consultant, Jason Senekis. " It has some practical difficulties in implementation because it stipulates that scooters should only run on cycle lanes and roads with a speed limit of less than 30km, but these spaces are limited. A second practical difficulty is that municipalities, despite the fact that the legislation stipulates it, have not proceeded to define areas in which scooters will move."
In addition, Senecis said, it is difficult that both the transport ministry and municipalities did not plan to reduce speed limits on some roads to include scooters. "As a result, someone who commutes on scooters, basically when they move away from cycle lanes and 30km roads, has to stop using it and walk with it. No connected network is offered."
The legislation, he said, was passed to restrict the use of scooters, not to regulate it. "Apart from the competent authorities who did not do the right thing. Nor did the companies do what they should. They place scooters on highways, i.e. beyond 30 km. Of course, there is no control over where they park. Mechanisms have not been used in scooters to control speed and for the areas in which they travel, so that compliance is enforced by technological means. Generally there is indifference and tolerance, which sometimes results in injuries."
He stressed that all road users are generally exposed. In the event of a traffic collision, because they do not have insurance, the other driver will have to take legal action and at best be compensated five years later. At the same time, he said that municipalities, scooter rental companies, officials of the Ministry of Transport and of course the Police are responsible for the checks. However, he noted, Malta recently banned scooter rentals, while a similar discussion is underway in Paris.
For his part, the chairman of the Parliament's Transport Committee, Marinos Mousioutas, told us that the legislation regulating scooters was passed in July 2022, but entered into force in March 2023. "Users, it seems, are not following the law and are moving around places they shouldn't or at a speed they shouldn't." At the same time, he said, the competent authorities (municipal traffic wardens and police) do not seem to proceed with checks and illegalities are a daily occurrence.
