Electric scooters or e-scooters are seeing a huge rise in popularity across Dublin, but what laws should scooter owners be aware of?
In short, there is no specific law in place at the moment covering e-scooters with regulations not expected to be introduced until 2023 under the Government's action plan for the National Sustainable Mobility Policy.
Meanwhile, the Government published the Road Traffic and Roads Bill 2021 last October, which would regulate the use of e-scooters on Irish roads to combat climate change.
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However, the bill is still making its way through the Oireachtas while the finer details are being hammered out.
This law will give certainty for e-scooter users once it’s signed into law by President Michael D Higgins next year.
In February, Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan was successful in having several amendments passed regarding the Road Traffic and Roads Bill 2021, which legislates for electric scooters and electric bikes as well as other road safety issues.
Among the amendments was the scrapping of an age limit for e-scooter ownership.
Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan, TD, who proposed the amendments, said that while the bill is already a substantial one, the amendments are important and “will prove very worthwhile”.
He said that powered personal transporters (PPTs) such as e-scooters had been discussed in particular because it is an area “where the technology is changing very rapidly”.
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One of the amendments will see the definition of PPT weight, speed and power output varied in future regulations to enable prompt response in the dynamic sector.
Charlie Gleeson, founder and CEO of Zipp Mobility welcomed the amendments and said the ability to adapt maximum levels of the speed, weight and power of e-scooters “will be critical to ensure that regulations stay up to date”.
Headquartered at NovaUCD, Zipp is one of many micromobility start-ups set to hit Irish roads as soon as the Government legalises e-scooters.
What do the safety experts say?
The Road Safety Authority has issued a number of reminders to e-scooter owners in recent months.
E-scooters are technically mechanically propelled vehicles (MPVs).
The RSA has previously said that riding these vehicles on public footpaths should be considered illegal. The RSA had also called on these scooters to be used in cycle lanes, where appropriate.
While we are still in a legal limbo regarding the use of the scooters, gardai have been seen to be cutting down on the flagrant misuse of the vehicles.
For example, a scooter rider had his vehicle confiscated in Kilkenny earlier this year for breaking the rules of the road.
Gardai have been quick to remind people that although there may be question marks around the use of the e-scooters, the rules of the road apply to all users, irrespective of what you use to get around.
The suggested rules around e-scooters
It looks as if there will soon be a limit to how fast e-scooter riders can go, which now stands at around 25km/h.
It will be an offence for anyone on an e-scooter to “hold on to any other vehicle which is in motion or hold on to any person or thing on, in, or attached to, any such vehicle.”
They must be “designed and constructed for the carriage of a single person, but not designed or constructed for a person with restricted mobility or for the carriage of goods”.
You can read the whole draft law here (skip to section 12 for the relevant parts about scooters)
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