Lithuanian parliament Seimas is planning to curb the traffic of electric scooters. It is proposed to clearly define the requirements for riding electric scooters on the country’s roads. However, some doubt whether the new rules will be of any use if there is no one to monitor the scooterists.
With the scooter season picking up, a group of Lithuanian parliament members is proposing that riders should wear a helmet, as well as a vest with reflective elements at night. They also want to ban e-scooters from pedestrian crossings and sidewalks.
“It would be forbidden to ride scooters on pavements. Why? Because, according to medical data, 55 percent or more of those injured in accidents involving scooters are pedestrians,” said Julius Sabatauskas, Deputy Speaker of the Seimas.
According to the medics, the number of those injured in scooter accidents is rising every year.
“Brain, head, and face injuries are the most common. Some of them are life-threatening, and others are aesthetically unpleasant. With hand injuries, we have noticed that falling off a scooter very rarely results in wounds alone,” said Paulius Uksas, head of the Emergency Department at the Republican Vilnius University Hospital.
Helmets or vests are not an issue for many, but scooter riders and renters are hesitant about whether it would be safer to move the scooter traffic to the roads.
“The driving conditions [on the roads] are not suitable for scooters. There are drainage systems that make the road edges uneven and the scooter riders must go left closer to cars,” a scooter driver told LRT TV.
The proposal would also create inequality, according to Eimantas Balta, a representative of the scooter-renting company Bolt.
“We forget about the bikes that are significantly bigger and also ride on pavements. If we push some out and leave others in, we create inequality,” he said.
The proposal to limit the speed of scooters to 20 kilometres per hour and the power to 500 watts is also receiving mixed responses.
“How can we monitor their speed? These are practical issues that need to be thought through before the law is passed. Given the lack of police capacity both in cities and on the roads, it would be very difficult to do so,” said Jonas Damidavičius, a representative of Vilnius transport administrator JUDU.
If the draft amendment is approved, only one person will be allowed to be on a moving scooter. People will be allowed to ride electric scooters from the age of 16 or 14 after passing a special course.
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