They’re clean, Green... but still illegal as gardai seize 91 scooters
GARDAI have seized 91 electric scooters so far this year because, despite their popularity with environmentally concerned commuters, it is still against the law to use them on a public road.
Even though the Road Safety Authority has recommended legislation be brought in to allow them, and the Coalition partners agreed to do so in the Programme for Government, nothing has been done.
Though the increasingly popular mode of transport is clean and environmentally friendly, the minister responsible, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, says changing the law will take some time.
The Transport Minister was not able to provide a timetable for legislation, when asked by
‘The minister makes Ross look like a hare’
Sinn Féin TD Chris Andrews.
Instead, he warned: ‘It is illegal to use them on public roads and in public places.’
He added: ‘People using one in public may be prosecuted and have their vehicle confiscated by An Garda Síochána.’
Somewhat pointlessly for most commuters, he added: ‘Their use is permitted on private land with the permission of the landowner.’
Mr Ryan’s hesitation has been accompanied by a major rise in the number of traffic offences, collisions and seizures involving e-scooters over the past three years.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee told Sinn Féin TD Darren O’Rourke that traffic offences involving them have increased from none in 2018 to 48 last year, and despite widescale restrictions in travel since March this year, 46 were recorded from January to October. The number of collisions have shot up from three in 2018, to 21 last year and as high as 37 this year already, despite the restrictions. And the number of seizures has also risen from none in 2018 to 56 last year and 91 this year.
Minister Ryan is blaming the coronavirus pandemic for the difficulties in putting legislation together, but one of his Government colleagues dismissed this and said he was ‘an awful ditherer’.
Electric scooters are classed as mechanic ally propelled vehicles, so users have to have a licence, tax and insurance. But because they do not fall under any existing vehicle category, you can’t tax or insure them, and there is no separate licence category for them.
Yet, they have become increasingly popular in cities for small local commutes, and the Road Safety Authority has recommended legislation be adapted to enable their lawful use on public roads.
But Minister Ryan argued: ‘Changes to the legal status of these vehicles are not as simple as declaring them no longer mechanic ally propelled vehicles. Any changes to this require primary legislation which may take some time.’ The minister said that while he intends to legislate for e-scooters in accordance with the Programme for Government, ‘this will involve identifying and developing appropriate amendments to primary legislation across a range of complex areas.’ He also said: ‘The work must be carried out in such a way that it does not undermine the overall framework of Road Traffic Law or Road Safety in general.’
And he pleaded that priorities now are the measures for coronavirus so ‘it is not possible to provide a timeframe for e-scooter legislation at this time’. His Coalition colleagues were less than impressed with that and one noted: ‘He is an awful ditherer. He makes Ross look like a hare.’