Electric Scooter Riders In Italy Mandatory To Wear Masks And Insured

Illustration of electric scooters. (Wikimedia Commons/Sonia Medina)

JAKARTA - The Italian Parliament approved a bill that would require electric scooter riders to wear helmets and be insured on Wednesday last week, while also introducing heavier fines for careless parking as part of a broader overhaul of highway regulations.

The Italian Senate gave final approval of the law with a vote of 83-47.

Like in other European countries, the use of electric scooters has soared in Italy in recent years. However, the spike has also led to an increase in accidents and complaints from drivers to pedestrians about motorists violating safety and parking regulations.

"There are no more illegal scooters," Transport Minister Matteo Salvini said in a post on social media, adding electric scooters would also be required to have number plates and were banned on bicycle lanes, pedestrian areas and non-city roads. November 27.

The ISTAT national statistics institute said in July that traffic accidents with injuries involving electric scooters increased to 3,365 in 2023, with 21 deaths, up from 2,929 injuries and 16 deaths in 2022.

On the other hand, electric scooter rental companies criticized the restrictions as too harsh a punishment, showing that their vehicles are subject to speed restrictions and are geographically localized, thereby minimizing the risk of abuse.

"They have the technology that hinders certain bad behavior that is the most serious source of accidents," Andrea Giaretta, Vice President for Southern and Western Europe, Middle East in Dottt, told Reuters.

Meanwhile, Giorgio Cappiello, head of institutional relations in Italy for Bird, another rental company, called the new rules "fully ideological", saying his company did not report any casualties on their vehicles in 2022 and 2023.

It is known that the revised highway code (regulation) also includes harsher penalties for those driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, as well as imprisonment of up to 7 years for those who neglect animals on the road, which causes accidents.

Salvini, who is also deputy prime minister and leader of the far-right League party, said the changes were drawn up after extensive consultations "with a common goal: to reduce massacres on Italian roads."

Other countries in Europe have also restricted the use of electric scooters. Last year, the French capital, Paris banned two-wheeled electric vehicles after referendum. Meanwhile, Madrid in Spain decided in September to ban it.

Supporters of electric scooters, cities like Rome and Milan are popular among local residents and tourists, saying electric scooters provide cheap and pollution-free alternatives to public transportation or other mobility options.