E-scooters VS law in Europe: one country welcomes them, another bans the e-scooter

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If there’s anything we can see about e-scooters, it’s the fact that their market has grown a lot in the last few years. The amount of people of that bought an e-scooter has grown, but the regulations in the countries concerning the e-scooter has not changed with it, making a lot of the vehicles illegal to ride on. We had a look at few countries and their regulations on the e-scooters.

We are looking at the regulations, because over the last few years e-scooters are available from all over the world. For example the Xiaomi e-scooters are manufactured in Asia, but are available for purchase in the European Union. But the manufacturers on other continents, have different regulations. Hence the prohibition of the usage of some of those vehicles.

Laws in the UK

It’s quite hard to have an e-scooter in the United Kingdom and actually ride one. Because e-scooters are motorised and have no pedals, they are illegal to use on cycle-lanes and pavements. Another problem is that they are low-powered and therefor are illegal to use on the road. If you still want to ride an e-scooter, you have to look at e-scooters or other electric vehicles which are legal. It’s not likely that the UK government is trying to change the law on the short term.

Law in the Netherlands

The law in the Netherland is different to the UK and can be considered as less strict than the one with the United Kingdom. In the Netherlands you can ride an e-scooter, provided that it has been given permission by the RDW, the organisation for vehicles and vehicle safety in the Netherlands. If not, you can’t drive it on the open road. If so, you have to comply with a set of rules. You have to be over 16 years of age, you have to insure the vehicle and follow the rules that are connected to that type of vehicle. This is not very different from the regulation in the UK.

Law in Germany

Germany was quite strict on the usage of e-scooters as well, but this has changed in 2018. In this year there were plans to officially approve e-scooters as a new mode of transportation in Germany. “Electric scooters will then formally be allowed to travel along cycle paths and motor roads as long as they fulfilled regulatory standards” a spokesperson of the German government said. Xinhuanet.com stated the following regarding the regulations in Germany: “In order to be eligible to drive e-scooters in the future without being penalized by law enforcement officers, the owners must attach an insurance placard, be at least 15 years of age and have some form of driving license, be it for a vehicle or regular motor scooter. The ministry stated that wearing helmets would not be necessary.” While Germany had rather outdated regulations on the usage of e-scooters in public, they have acted on the present times and made it more accessible.

What do you think? Will e-scooters survive and become really booming as a last mile trend? Let us know in the comment section below!