Filenews 13 November 2024
Restrictions on riders' specifications, characteristics and equipment, driving speed, traffic areas and the level of safety of the infrastructure where they can travel, the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) recommends in a report released today on electric scooters.
Due to the widespread use of e-scooters as e-scooters are known, the Council deals with them in its latest report, noting the differences that exists in the legislation of EU countries, since there is no common legal framework for their circulation.
In Cyprus there have been two scooter deaths to date, one in 2019 and one in 2022 and several injuries. According to the report of the European Transport Safety Board as part of the Road Safety PIN (Performance Index) project, in the 22 states that were able to provide data, the deaths of riders of e-scooters and motorized micromobility devices in general, increased from 81 in 2021 to 119 in 2022. It should be noted, however, that during the same period, the number of these vehicles in circulation also increased. In Cyprus, only one e-scooter death was recorded during this period, namely in 2022. The report shows a very large difference in the numbers of deaths by gender of riders. Specifically, in the 22 states that provided data, 283 deaths of men and 46 deaths of women were recorded in the period 2020-2023.
The ETSC recommends in the report that the issue of the safety of e-scooter riders be addressed with the "safe system" approach, which includes measures and restrictions. It is also noted that in 31 of the 32 countries participating in the program, the use of scooters is allowed and in 20 of them the maximum scooter traffic limit is set at 25 km / h and the other 11 a limit of 20 km / h. In Cyprus the limit is 20 km / h (10 km / h in a pedestrian street or square, when movement is allowed by the competent Local Authority). The Council also considers it imperative to separate the traffic of e-scooter riders and other vulnerable road users from motor vehicles where the speed of motor vehicles exceeds 30 km/h.
The European Council recommends to national governments and the EU:
• Set a maximum speed of 20 km/h for private e-scooters, by design at the factory. Providers of rental e-scooters, also having to limit the maximum speed to 20 km/h, will still have to implement lower speeds, for example in pedestrian zones, using "geofencing" technology.
• Introduce an obligation for independent braking systems on the front and rear wheels of e-scooters, to have front and rear lights, horns and drivers to wear helmets on e-scooters. (Note: This obligation applies in Cyprus).
• Riding an e-scooter on sidewalks should be prohibited and rented e-scooters should slow down at walking speed in pedestrian-heavy areas through geofencing. In Cyprus it is forbidden to ride an e-scooter on sidewalks, pedestrian streets and squares, unless this is allowed by the competent local authority and marked accordingly).
It is also recommended that scooters are driven by one person, 16 years old and over (in Cyprus the minimum age is 14 years) and the use of mobile phones and alcohol is prohibited (in the country these apply).
• It is recommended to train e-scooter riders, something that is not done in Cyprus.
It is noted that the representative of Cyprus in the PIN program is George Morfakis.
