New rules and penalties: What you should know if you drive an electric scooter

About 250.000 electric scooters, which are estimated to be in Serbia, will become visible to the Law on Traffic Safety. The proposal to amend the Law regulates the driving of electric scooters. The main change refers to the mandatory cycling path. 

In the absence of them, they can move on parts of the road where the speed limit is up to 50 km per hour. In conditions of reduced visibility or at night, the scooter must be illuminated and the driver must wear a reflective vest.

The largest cities in Serbia, Belgrade and Novi Sad, have built approximately 100 kilometers of bicycle infrastructure each, which is about a third of what was foreseen in their planning documents, according to the report of the State Audit Institution (DRI). 

Subotica has a 37 km long bicycle path, Sombor 28 km, while Pirot, Valjevo, Bor, Smederevo and Prokuplje have no built bicycle paths. 

Damir Okanović from the Traffic Safety Committee told the "Vremena" portal that now, with more users, there is certainly a greater need for the construction of additional bicycle lanes.

"Since 2009, there is a provision in the traffic law that there must be a built sidewalk on every state road passing through the settlement. Back in 2014, we asked for the addition of a bicycle path or lane. It was not adopted then, with the explanation that there are settlements in Serbia where bicycles are not ridden due to the configuration of the terrain. However, any mixing of motor and bicycle traffic is bad. The more bike paths are provided, the more safety we will have", says Okanović.

Cruising through the gray area 

Electric scooters are a practical solution for city congestion, so they have become very popular throughout Europe in recent years. Until now, in Serbia, people have driven them in parks, sidewalks, bike paths, and even on the road between cars. 

Katarina Jovanović has been cruising the streets of Belgrade on a tricycle for six years, but as she says, there are no rules for drivers or pedestrians. 

"I think that making rules is useful because it will affect the safety of all road users. It will draw our attention to be more considerate of pedestrians, but drivers should also respect us on the streets", says Jovanović.

Many fellow citizens who live in busy pedestrian zones complain that tricycle drivers endanger their safety. 

"When I leave my passage, I have to be very careful. Especially since I also walk a small dog on a leash, which scooter drivers and cyclists often don't see because of their speed," says a Belgrade resident. 

What do the new rules require?

The new Draft Law on Road Traffic Safety defines what a light electric vehicle is, where it can go and what are the minimum age requirements for its use.  

In it, electric scooters are classified as "light electric vehicles, with at least two wheels, mechanical steering, without a place to sit, whose electric motor power does not exceed 0,6 kilowatts." Their speed does not exceed 25 km per hour, and the weight of the empty vehicle is a maximum of 35 kilograms".

Okanović also says that trotines have not been recognized in the law until now. 

"First of all, it is important to define what an electric scooter is, because we have various devices on the streets that look like scooters, and they move at speeds of up to 100 km/h," says Okanović.

As he says, children under the age of 14 will not be allowed to operate an electric scooter. All minor drivers will be required to wear a protective helmet and will be able to enter the roadway only in sections where the speed limit is up to 30 km per hour.

The use of helmets for adult drivers is optional, but recommended. According to a report by the European Road Safety Observatory (ERSO), only four percent of all electric scooter users were wearing a helmet when the accident occurred. 

Amendments to the law also require that if the driver drives a light electric vehicle on the road, he will have to have with him technical documentation about the vehicle, from which the technical characteristics of the scooter can be determined, such as the power of the electric motor, design speed and curb weight of the vehicle. At the request of the authorized person, he will be obliged to provide this documentation for inspection. 

Anticipated fines and imprisonment 

For driving an electric scooter on the highway and motorway and transporting another person, the fines are from 100.000 to 120.000 dinars or a prison sentence of up to 30 days.

The fine for driving on an illegal surface is 10.000 dinars. The same penalty applies to driving without lights or without a reflective vest.

For more serious violations, even confiscation of the vehicle/scooter is foreseen. 

A driver driving on the sidewalk can be stopped by any police officer, not only members of the Traffic Police.

As he conveyed Euronews Serbia, the new amendments to the Law in Serbia also defined prison sentences for inflicting physical or fatal injuries.

"For inflicting light physical injuries, 30 days or more may be appropriate, for inflicting serious bodily injuries, two to eight years in prison, and for causing fatal injuries, two to 12 years in prison," said Koković.

The market in Serbia is interesting for investors

The announced changes to the Law also attract companies that rent electric scooters. Due to the announcement of their business in Serbia, an increased number of electric scooters is expected on the streets.

"Until now, no serious investor has wanted to enter the field where there is no clear legal framework. Otherwise, it is a serious market. During 2021, the total value of the revenues from that business in the territory of the European Union was 640 million euros. So Serbia is certainly an interesting part of the cake", says Okanović. 

In practice, it has so far proven that the work of the mentioned companies is a double-edged sword. 

"On the one hand, the increased number of scooters and their availability is really practical. Through the application, you can see that there is a free scooter 70 meters from you, and for 300, 400 dinars you can get where you need to go. The downsides to this are that people act irresponsibly when the vehicle is not theirs. They drive riskier, and experience from Western Europe shows that they are very careless in disposing of them when they finish driving. That's why a ban on scooter rental companies was voted in Paris, which will come into effect on September 1st. Parisians could not deal with irresponsible scooter drivers because, after renting and transporting them, they left them in the middle of the sidewalk and completely disrupted the daily functioning of the streets", says Okanović. 

The upside is that operators who rent out electric scooters can track riders and control their behavior through the app. Vehicle speed may be limited or movement in pedestrian zones may be prohibited. 

"In certain cities, an increased number of incidents were observed because people rented scooters under the influence of alcohol. After that, it is forbidden to rent an electric scooter after 22 pm. When it comes to Serbia, it will be a problem that we don't have a law that deals with the work of companies that rent electric scooters. This is critical at this moment, because the changes in the law will attract companies that will rent electric trikes, but there will be no rules for their business and this can cause a serious problem", says Okanović.

Recorded incidents with electric scooters across Europe

Police accident reports do not identify victims of electric scooters in most countries.

However, some available data indicate that deaths and injuries are on the rise, largely because electric scooters are becoming more popular.

The UK Department of Transport warns that electric scooter drivers are one of the most vulnerable groups of transport users. They are not protected by the body of the vehicle in the same way that car users are, and in addition, drivers find it harder to see them on the road.

There were 1.349 crashes involving e-scooters in Britain last year, compared to 978 in the previous year ending in June 2021. In the same time period, 12 people died in e-scooter crashes, 11 of whom were riders.

There were also 1.425 injured in collisions with electric scooters, compared to 1.029 the previous year.

In France, 24 people died in electric scooter accidents, including one death in Paris, in 2021. In Germany, five scooter riders lost their lives in 2020.

Scooter or bicycle, the risk is the same

According to a risk assessment by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), there is no difference in the risk of death between electric scooters and bicycles. The odds of you ending up in the emergency room are the same.

The OECD report, on the other hand, shows that the risk of death of a motorcycle or moped driver is five times higher than when driving an electric scooter.

More than 80 percent of the deaths of both cyclists and electric scooter drivers are the result of collisions with heavier vehicles.

Speed ​​limits generally exist

In European countries, speed limits of 20-25 km per hour are the most common. Of the 21 countries, only Bulgaria, Estonia and Hungary do not have speed limits.

In half of these countries, age restrictions apply to the use of electric scooters. The minimum age ranges from 12 in Austria and France to 18 in Italy.

Insurance required only in Denmark, France and Great Britain

Electric scooter riders are only required to have liability insurance in Denmark, France and the UK. Drivers are not required to have insurance in any other country on this list. Most countries do not impose any special rules on driving licenses.

Sanja Zrnić

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