Government plans to introduce blood alcohol limit and helmet requirement for some electric scooter drivers

Electric scooterPhoto: Politiet / NTB

A blood alcohol limit, a helmet requirement for children under the age of 15, and a ban on riding on sidewalks are among the restrictions the government wants to introduce for electric scooters.

“We have come up with regulations before, and now we want to introduce new national rules. The reason for this is that the accident rates on electric scooters are very high. There are many people who suffer serious injuries, and we have had three deaths related to electric scooter use,” Minister of Transport Knut Arild Hareide (KrF) told the newspaper VG.

The introduction of a blood alcohol limit for electric scooter drivers is one of the proposals that will now be addressed, as 41% of the injuries related to electric scooters occur in connection with driving under the influence.

A ban on driving on sidewalks, mandatory helmets for children under 15 years, and a 12-year age limit are also part of planned new measures.

“It is ten times as dangerous to ride an electric scooter than a normal bike, and there are many young people who suffer injuries. My message to the young people is that it is more dangerous than you think and that the chance of being injured is lower if you are sober,” Hareide said.

Voi’s comments

Norwegian manager for Voi Christina Moe Gjerde is happy with the proposal of a blood alcohol limit.

“It is very good that the government finally puts in place an alcohol limit. Voi and many others have been asking for this for a long time. However, a ban on driving on sidewalks will lead to more accidents as there is a great shortage of cycle paths in our cities. It is not good for traffic safety to force electric scooters together with cars and trams,” she warned in a message to NTB.

Efforts are now being made to bring the proposal for stricter electric scooter rules out for consultation. Following the consultation, a bill will be submitted to the Norwegian parliament (Storting). The tightening of rules will not take effect until it is adopted. 

Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews

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