Electric scooters: the government wants to “regulate” rather than ban
Minimum age at 14 or 16, identification number, turn signals, reinforced controls, no obligation to wear a helmet… The Minister of Transport unveiled this Sunday in the JDD its national plan to regulate the use of electric scooters, one month before referendum in Paris on their ban.
By presenting this plan, Clément Beaune firmly takes the opposite view of the vote organized on April 2 by the Mayor of Paris. ” Anne Hidalgo wants to ban scooters without assuming it, therefore it organizes a referendum without campaign and without contradictory opinions being expressed “, lambasted the minister, who sees in it” an admission of failure and weakness “. “I will go and vote as a citizen and as an elected representative of Paris. You understood in what sense…”, he added.
Conversely, Clément Beaune intends to remain “in the spirit of the law on mobility of 2019, which left a maximum of regulation to the cities”, while proposing to help them with a “reinforced national framework”. Concretely, he wants the minimum age – 12 years old currently – to be raised to “at least 14 or 16 years old”, with the generalization of verification devices. “It is imperative to avoid tragedies involving young teenagers. »
Reinforcement of controls
“Then, all self-service scooters need a visible identification number: this will facilitate and strengthen controls,” said the minister, who also advocates the obligation of turn signals. “To put an end to the piles of abandoned scooters, most communities have set up compulsory parking spaces: operators must imperatively generalize the double stand and increase patrols”, declared the Minister.
Citing the example of Lyon, Clément Beaune finally pleaded for the ecological requirement of a “longer battery life and a recycling obligation in France”. “The State will put the sword in the loins of the operators, because the laxity has now lasted too long”, explained the minister.
No compulsory helmet
On the other hand, he does not retain the obligation of the helmet: “Because for an obligation to be effective, it must be able to be controlled and this would concern an immense number of cases. If you do it for the scooter, consistency demands that you do it for the bike. And the Minister does not want to discourage the ever-increasing number of users of these alternatives to the car.
Clément Beaune also says he is ready to “toughen up the fines” (currently 35 euros) against those who ride two on a scooter. “It’s forbidden and it’s the cause of one in five serious accidents.”
