Minister backs regulation of e-scooters and orders study

SHANE Ross has given his backing to the regulation of electric scooters.

The Transport Minister confirmed recently that he has requested the Road Safety Authority to carry out a study on how best to regulate for electric scooters and skateboards, which are currently illegal to use on our roads.

And Mr Ross – speaking in the Seanad last week – has now confirmed he is of the view they need to be regulated.

He was responding to a question from Senator Michael McDowell – the former tánaiste and attorney general.

Mr McDowell said electric scooters were becoming more and more common in Dublin city centre and yet it’s still unknown if driving them on roads is legal. ‘Anybody who drives in the city centre see that electric scooters are proliferating,’ he said.

‘I approve of them and I do not think they are all that dangerous… The minister’s Department must come to a conclusion one way or another,’ he urged in the Seanad on April 4.

‘Are they going to be permitted or not? By my reading of the road traffic legislation, their use is illegal. I may be wrong about that but I think I am right. They should not be in a grey area.’

The minister responded that he is ‘very conscious of their presence on the streets’ and that there is ‘obviously regulatory issues here’.

He then referred to his recent request to the RSA to conduct research.

E-scooters are classified as mechanically propelled vehicles. Motorists complain of their use on the road, and cyclists say that they are becoming increasingly common on cycle lanes.

Under current legislation, mechanically propelled vehicles must be taxed, insured and users must hold a licence.

A spokesperson for the minister said that because it is ‘currently not possible to tax or insure e-scooters or similar vehicles – they are not considered suitable for use in a public place’.