Transport|The new stricter rules for electric scooters could come into force as early as next May.
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The city of Helsinki supports a law change that would tighten the regulation of electric scooters.
The change in the law would enable the number of electric scooters to be limited and monitored.
There are five rental companies in Helsinki with a total of about 10,000 electric scooters.
Three people have died in electric scooter accidents in the Helsinki region this year.
Electric scooters Reckless use is now being tried to be brought under control with new, stricter rules. The new amendment to the law, when implemented, would mean that the number of boards and traffic could be regulated.
With the new micro-traffic permit, the city could set conditions for companies that rent boards.
The city could, for example, regulate the number of electric scooters in the city area, and require the boards to have features that can monitor how many people are riding the board at the same time.
Five rental companies operate in Helsinki, with a total of approximately 10,000 electric scooters. In the peak year of 2022, there were more than 18,000 boards.
The law change is a proposal of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, which is currently in the opinion round in the city of Helsinki.
Helsinki the city emphasizes in its statement that the law change is very worthwhile.
“Although there are now five companies, we have received contacts from companies interested in Helsinki”, says the head of the unit Heikki Palomäki from the field of urban environment.
There are several different problems associated with electric scooters: accidents cause medical expenses, boards are left lying in random places, and riding on the sidewalk creates dangerous situations.
The city has tried to deal with parking by designating parking areas on boards from the street area. Voluntary agreements have also been made with companies on speed limits at night.
Agreeing on operating methods with each operator separately is tedious, and there is always a risk that a new operator will come to Helsinki that does not comply with the voluntary restrictions agreed with others. Then even the old operators can withdraw from the contract.
Helsinki would have liked a license competition in the law, in which case the city would have been able to limit the number of board companies operating in the city as well. With this, for example, the city of Oslo limited the number of board companies to three.
During the previous government, the city was already looking for better opportunities to regulate the activities of companies, but at that time the desired regulation did not come.
Helsinki three people have died in electric scooter accidents in the region this year. In August, an adult man died In Leppävaara, Espoo, when two electric kickboarders collided.
In June A 14-year-old boy in Helsinki’s Kaivopuisto fell on his electric scooter and later died in hospital.
A minor girl in Myyrmäki, Vantaa died in an electric scooter accident.
Based on health care statistics the proportion of people under the age of 16 in electric scooter accidents is increasing.
Renting e-scooters to minors is prohibited, but children are seen repeatedly on rental boards, because age restrictions are easily circumvented these days.
Of course, there are ways to both age restrictions and prevent group use. For example, weight restrictions could ensure that the board renter does not take friends on board.
“Strong identification would be one way to confirm the renter’s age,” lists Palomäki.
According to the companies, strong identification makes it difficult to introduce boards if identification has to be done at every rental event.
To change the law other measures to increase traffic safety have been recorded in addition to the new permit procedure. There would be a mention of the 0.5 per thousand limit in the law.
The proposal for a blood alcohol limit applies to both motorized bicycles and light electric vehicles.
The city points out in its own statement to the ministry that electric scooter accidents are overrepresented in the accident statistics, and especially drunken driving has been one of the biggest risk factors for getting into an accident.
“The alcohol limit alone will not solve the problems of driving while intoxicated if the police do not have enough resources allocated to control it,” the statement points out.
The law change could enter into force in the spring of 2025.
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