Legislation currently being planned involves considering age limits for those who can legally ride escooters. There are also other measures being talked about to minimize the dangers to both pedestrians and users alike.
New laws that further legalize escooters might take until Christmas, if not next year itself. An Oireachtas committee member charged with looking into various legal proposals points out that this could be a rather long wait.
There are growing concerns about risks of injury and even death that might result from really young people who speed on escooters on footpaths and roads, as well as in public amenity spaces.
Figures from the Department of Justice show that over 30 collisions happened just last year that involved escooters.
Speed limits for escooters, as well as speed limiters on the actual vehicles, are concerns for the Joint Committee for Transport and Communications Networks.
That committee is looking into the primary provisions of legislation being drafted that might legalize escooter use.
A transport minister said that the government had a commitment to make sure escooters only be legal for use if they are used safely.
In legal terminology, escooters are often referred to as ‘powered personal transporters’.
Miscellaneous Provisions in the Road Traffic Act don’t actually cover escooters, so they have to be incorporated into legislation while still at the committee stage.
Legislation currently being planned involves considering age limits for those who can legally ride escooters. There are also other measures being talked about to minimize the dangers to both pedestrians and users alike.
New laws that further legalize escooters might take until Christmas, if not next year itself. An Oireachtas committee member charged with looking into various legal proposals points out that this could be a rather long wait.
There are growing concerns about risks of injury and even death that might result from really young people who speed on escooters on footpaths and roads, as well as in public amenity spaces.
Figures from the Department of Justice show that over 30 collisions happened just last year that involved escooters.
Speed limits for escooters, as well as speed limiters on the actual vehicles, are concerns for the Joint Committee for Transport and Communications Networks.
That committee is looking into the primary provisions of legislation being drafted that might legalize escooter use.
A transport minister said that the government had a commitment to make sure escooters only be legal for use if they are used safely.
In legal terminology, escooters are often referred to as ‘powered personal transporters’.
Miscellaneous Provisions in the Road Traffic Act don’t actually cover escooters, so they have to be incorporated into legislation while still at the committee stage.
The transport minister said that many citizens, manufacturers, transport companies, and other businesses all had a keen interest in there being new legislation. He also said there was hope for legislation by summertime, although he doubted it would happen that fast.
A spokeswoman for the department claimed they intended to get the legislation advanced as quickly as they could.
Any fresh legislation would have to be followed up with enforcement. Anyone wanting an escooter that is fully legal needs to play crucial roles in getting people compliant and educated.
If escooters become legal in a more negative way, they might be used quite frequently but improperly. The result would be a tremendous number of accidents.
Some welcome the possibility of electric bikes and escooters for what they can do to help the environment. However, users and non-users alike need to be mindful of the potential dangers involved with them.
Escooters aren’t intended for just riding around inside public parks. Their transport mechanisms, not toys.
While the age threshold for those using escooters is likely to be lower than passenger vehicles, the responsibility still matters.
Some point out how there need to be more physical spaces for escooters and ebikes, particularly if it separates them from pedestrians. Similar to what happened with scramblers, there need to be by-laws that prevent this kind of transport from being abused in designated recreational spaces.
Powered vehicles shouldn’t be in the hands of children that lack the maturity and capacity to control them.
The Road Safety Authority has issued their submission to the proper personnel at the Department of Transport regarding how escooter laws should be shaped. This submission highlighted how age restrictions for users in various nations were linked to how powerful the device was.
Industry experts view this as a pragmatic approach worthy of consideration. For instance, the minimum age for escooters able to reach 20kph should be 16 years of age.
The Road Safety Authority, however, didn’t suggest mandating protective equipment, although it still encourages users to follow cyclists in wearing highly visible clothing and helmets.
The International Transport Forum last year commissioned research highlighting how users of escooter have to deal with identical risks of death or injury as cyclists face on a regular basis.
