In just a few days, on April 2, Parisians will be invited by Anne Hidalgo to decide whether or not to maintain the self-service scooter fleets in the capital. Chance of the calendar or clever political calculation, the Minister Delegate for Transport, Clément Beaune, revealed this Wednesday the main lines of his plan to regulate this means of micromobility and try to ensure the safety of its users. A plan developed in consultation with operators, users, families of accident victims, but also parliamentarians and communities.
Minimum age raised from 12 to 14
One of the first measures, which will concern all French users – whether they use individual electric scooters or borrow them from operators Lime, Tier and Dott – is to raise the minimum age for practice. Thus, it will now be necessary to be at least 14 years old to use one of these machines. As such, the operators had already taken a first step with their self-service vehicles, theoretically prohibiting their use by minors.
Fines increase to €135
As often, regulation will rhyme with deterrence. Thus, the fines that can be administered by the public authorities will increase significantly, from 35 to 135 €. Offenses such as riding a scooter together or riding on a track prohibited for electric scooters will be affected.
The fact remains that the police have many other missions to accomplish, especially at the moment, as the minister himself indicated in an interview with 20 minutes.
Kickstand and indicators
Always to ensure the safety of users, Clément Beaune wishes the generalization of stop lights or indicators on these machines. Regarding the wearing of a compulsory helmet, the Ministry of Transport considers the measure difficult to put in place, implying that the helmet also becomes compulsory for bicycles. There is also a fear that the growth of this soft mobility will be hampered by too many restrictive measures.
Another subject relating to the evolution of these machines: they could soon be equipped with a double crutch. The idea is to better ensure their stability, a bit like a scooter, and to avoid finding scooters lying on city sidewalks. “It is both a problem of security, aesthetics and management of public space”explains Clément Beaune to our colleagues.
National observatory and charter
Lastly, the government wishes to create a national micromobility observatory, an organization that will “produce objective knowledge on the use of electric scooters in France”. “There is a lack of transparency and objectivity on these subjects in generalexplains Clément Beaune. This observatory will allow us to have figures on accidentology, to know the causes. But also on the environmental benefits. This will help us to develop our regulatory framework and to have a better vision”.
Finally, self-service scooter operators are also invited, this Wednesday, to sign a charter by which they undertake to respect certain rules. They will ensure in particular to verify the age of users, to restrict the speed of machines according to the zones and to better control the parking of vehicles.