Portugal is one of six European countries that does not establish a minimum age for driving an electric scooter, according to the European Transport Safety Council, which proposes the adoption of mandatory safety standards in the European Union.
In a report on how to improve the road safety of electric scooters, the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) indicates that the majority of 32 European countries analyzed by this entity establish a minimum age to ride an electric scooterand only the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Portugal and Sweden do not do so.
ETSC is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to reducing the number of deaths and injuries in transport in Europe, of which Portuguese Road Prevention is a part.
The ETSC report also states that only 10 countries require electric scooter drivers to have some form of insurance, with Portugal being one of the countries that does not impose mandatory insurance.
In the document, the European Transport Safety Council proposes the adoption of mandatory safety standards for electric scooters throughout the European Union, a measure that aims to improve safety on public roads and reduce the number of accidents involving this means of transportation.
According to the ETSC, the new rules must include a mandatory speed limit of 20 kilometers per hour, as well as minimum requirements for stability, braking and acceleration.
The ETSC also recommends that EU governments set a minimum age of 16 for electric scooter users and implement mandatory helmet use.
In a statement, the PRP reinforces the importance of these measures proposed by the ETSC that aim to “protect users and reduce risky behavior on public roads,” arguing that driving with alcohol or drugs should be prohibited, as well as such as passenger transportation. as the report suggests and as is already happening in Portugal.
The PRP indicates that, in Portugal, the use of electric scooters has been growing, especially in urban areas, and it is increasingly common to see them in city centers.
The ETSC report indicates that many accidents involve only drivers, without reaching the knowledge of the authorities, which can make data collection difficult and therefore difficult to understand the real risks involved.
In this sense, the PRP recommends greater coordination between hospital data and police recordsas well as its availability to improve problem characterization, analysis and accident prevention.
The Highway Code in Portugal equates electric scooters with bicycles, which means that the traffic rules are the same, for example, it is prohibited to ride on sidewalks and they must ride in mandatory bicycle lanes.
However, taking into account the specific characteristics of these vehicles, the PRP considered that “it is important to make adjustments to the regulations that increase the safety of the users of these vehicles,” and the European Union should also “establish a common standard to guarantee greater uniformity and effectiveness in security policies in all countries in the region.”
The Portuguese Road Prevention also highlights that reducing speed in urban areas, as suggested by the ETSC, is one “of the best ways to increase the safety of all road users, that is, pedestrians, cyclists and scooter drivers” .
According to the PRP, in several European cities, such as Helsinki and Oslo, speed limits on scooters have proven effective in reducing accidents.
Data provided in Portugal by the National Road Safety Authority (ANSR) indicates that until June of this year there were 1,583 accidents with bicycles, including electric scooters, 2.9% more than in 2023 and 49.2% more than in 2019.
According to ANSR, nine people died in the first half of this year as a result of bicycle accidents and 68 were seriously injured, a decrease compared to previous years.
Source: Observadora
