More and more e-scooters: The online retailer Digitec Galaxus alone sold a five-digit number of e-scooters last year, i.e. well over 10,000 vehicles. There are no more precise figures for competitive reasons. The online retailer Brack (Competec Group) reports that at least 100 devices are sold to private individuals per month.
Online retailers say that the biggest boom is over. During the corona pandemic, sales figures at Digitec Galaxus increased by over 600 percent. They are now stable at a high level. And: devices with street approval are being sold more and more frequently (see below).
More and more accidents: The boom is also registered with the police, but also its negative consequences. The Lucerne police write in their 2022 annual report: “Unfortunately, the accident statistics with trendy electric vehicles show a negative trend. In the reporting year we recorded 31 traffic accidents compared to 9 in the previous year.” The St. Gallen cantonal police stated in their annual report that they had recorded “ten times more accidents with such vehicles” than in 2019.
A look at the media archive shows that some accidents end tragically: the drivers were often without helmets and therefore suffered serious injuries, according to the police.
Legend:
In June, a 13-year-old scooter driver was seriously injured in Villnachern (AG). There was a head-on collision with a car and the teenager was apparently not wearing a helmet, according to the police statement. The girl probably wouldn’t have been allowed to ride the e-scooter at all.
zvg/Aargau Cantonal Police
More and more controls: Various police corps now regularly check drivers and vehicles. The Bern cantonal police, for example, confiscated eleven vehicles at the beginning of September. 27 drivers were reported. The police in the canton of Solothurn also carried out special checks in September: they reported 20 people in a single day.
At the same time, the police corps are relying on information campaigns. For example, so-called “trend vehicles” are being discussed at the police stand at the autumn fair in Solothurn. Because – according to the tenor of the authorities’ communications – there is apparently a lack of knowledge about e-scooters and the like.
Still (too) little knowledge: Street-legal e-scooters are considered “light motorbikes”. This means: You can only drive them from the age of 14. And then only if you have a “motorcycle pass” (category M) or a “tractor pass” (category G). You can only use an e-scooter without ID if you are 16 or older.
The same regulations apply to e-scooters as to bicycles and e-bikes: For example, you are not allowed to ride on the sidewalk, but must be on the side of the road or in the cycle lane. Where there is a driving ban for bicycles, it also applies to e-scooters. This rule applies to many school areas, for example.
Legend:
There are around 4,000 e-scooters from rental companies in the city of Zurich alone. These “trend vehicles” are now also widespread in rural regions. However, knowledge of the applicable rules is not very widespread. For example, only one person can be on the vehicle at a time.
Keystone/Christian Beutler
Always way too fast: These “bicycle rules” apply to “small” electric vehicles that are street legal. These may have a maximum output of 500 watts and travel at a maximum speed of 20 km/h. Some e-scooters are much faster – and that can be really expensive.
In January, the Baden (AG) district court sentenced a man to a fine of 6,000 francs because he was riding an e-scooter that was too powerful – without a corresponding driving license and without liability insurance, i.e. a license plate.
In April, the St. Gallen cantonal police caught a man in Schmerikon who could have been driving his scooter at up to 63 km/h. Last summer, the city police in St. Gallen even seized a tuned model that reached a speed of almost 90 km/h.