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In France, the Ministry of the Transition Ecological and Solidarity, responsible for Transport, received Monday, August 12 an association of victims of accidents scooters electric. She intends to lodge a complaint against the city of Paris for endangering the lives of others. In the face of security concerns, several cities around the world have already taken action against these self-service devices.
Accidents, wild parking, legal puzzle: the rise of self-service electric scooters in big cities is provoking a lively debate between its supporters and its detractors. And confronts the authorities with problems of security and sharing of public space.
In Paris, parking electric scooters on the sidewalks has been banned since July 30, following the coming into force of a municipal by-law. To avoid impeding pedestrians, users must now park them in parking spaces.
Traffic on the sidewalks should soon be banned at the national level, the Minister of Transport, Elisabeth Borne, having promised a decree that should come into effect next September. Elsewhere in Europe and in the world, several cities have already imposed rules , more or less strict.
More and more restrictive rules in Europe
Last July, Emily Hartridge, the famous Youtubeuse and British TV host, died at the age of 35 while riding on an electric scooter in London. His death had been on the front page of the newspapers and sparked controversy over electric scooters. In the United Kingdom, even if they swarm, they have never been allowed: driving on the sidewalk as on the road is therefore synonymous with offense. Nevertheless, in fact, the police are tolerant if the users are well equipped (helmet).
Other European cities have recently taken action. This is the case of Lisbon, Portugal, which established on 1 July last prohibited parking zones. The operators are liable to a fine, between 60 and 300 euros, for each device left on the sidewalk.
Another example: Madrid. At the beginning of the year, the Spanish capital imposed new rules on users. People under the age of 15 must have been accompanied for the right to ride on an electric scooter. The speed is limited to 30 km / h and the wearing of the helmet is mandatory for those under 16, under penalty of receiving a fine of 30 euros. Finally, the municipality has banned users from driving on bus lanes and sidewalks.
Prohibitions in Spanish cities ...
Faced with the number of accidents, some cities went further and simply decided to ban self-service electric scooters. Always in Spain, Barcelona and Valencia made this choice.
Faced with mass tourism (around 30 million tourists a year), the Catalan capital banned them in October 2017. The scooters deposited by the German company Wind in late August 2018, had been withdrawn after a few hours by the Barcelona police.
►Also read: The electric scooter, angel or demon?
This is also the case of the city of Valencia. In August 2018, the operator Lime had deployed its gear without prior authorization from the municipality. The scooters were thus withdrawn last October and a fine was imposed on the Californian company.
The operator expressed his regret at the lack of specific regulations in most Spanish cities. " We are the first to ask one for our users, for the inhabitants, so that we know where to go and where not to go, " Alvaro Salvat, Lime's representative in Spain, told AFP last October. .
... and also in the United States
On the other side of the Atlantic, we find the same controversies. According to Consumer Reports, a US consumer advocacy organization, at least 1,500 people have been treated after accidents involving electric scooters in the United States since the end of 2017.
In New York, these machines are banned since a law of 2004 (law prohibiting the use of bicycles and electric scooters). A bill, currently under discussion, aims to legalize them.
On the West Coast, the city of Seattle has chosen to ban self-service electric scooters. A decision similar to that made by the city of San Francisco which finally decided, in August 2018, to allow only two small companies to develop in the city (Scoot and Skip). The operator Lime, whose headquarters is yet in San Francisco, has been dismissed.
Elsewhere in the world: In Singapore, a new law requires scooters to be registered, with offenders facing a fine or three months in prison. Since early 2019, speed is also limited to 10 km / h, and any unauthorized parking, immediately denounced by GPS-cookies, is verbalized. Finally, in Brazil, since this summer, users have to pass a test before being able to drive an electric scooter.