If you’re lucky enough to have received a new e-scooter during the gifting or sales season, we have two things to tell you. If you haven’t received an e-scooter, then much of what we are going to say applies to many more road users, cyclists for example, so read on anyway, and you might learn something.
The first thing we have to tell you is that as an e-scooter user (or any VMP, but the most common vehicle within that category is the e-scooter, so we are using that as a reference), you are amongst the most vulnerable users on the road. If you think of a motorbike, or moped for that matter, they are fitted with safety elements to help protect the user in the event of a collision, fairings or roll bars, for example, e-scooters offer no such protection.
That is precisely why it is important that you use personal protective equipment, such as a helmet, whether it is mandatory in your area or not. Similarly, that is why it is important that you abide by all traffic laws. Traffic law, as a general concept, has a single purpose, which is not to fine or punish people, but in fact to ensure your safety, and the safety of all road users. The more vulnerable you are, the greater the risk of serious or even fatal injury.
The second thing we want to share therefore are some of the responsibilities you carry when using a vehicle, such as an e-scooter, and the rules you must abide by.
Again, to sum It up, you must abide by all traffic rules in the same way as any other vehicle.
Some of the most common offences we witness, which in themselves clearly pose a danger, hence their illegality, include riding on the pavement. E-scooters are not permitted to be ridden on pedestrian areas, which includes pavements, town squares, shopping centres etc, but also includes pedestrian crossings when passing with the pedestrian flow. The vehicle itself IS permitted on these areas, but not if it is ridden. In other words, you must get off the vehicle and walk with it.
You are not permitted to drive down a one-way street the wrong way. We wouldn’t accept a car doing this, and your vehicle is no different. Similarly, drive on the right and keep to the right, including when going around roundabouts. Do not cut across lanes. Use the cycle lane, if provided.
Red lights at traffic signals mean you must stop. It doesn’t mean you can slow down and proceed, which also applies to road junctions protected by a STOP sign. You must stop and give way before proceeding.
Alcohol limits apply to all road users, but in the case of minors, the established maximum limit is zero.
You cannot use a mobile phone or wear headphones when riding a scooter, or any vehicle, as we have established.
E-scooters are not permitted on interurban roads, roads which connect towns, such as, for example, the N-332.
Finally, during bouts of poor visibility, you must wear high visibility clothing. You must also use lights, but the physical characteristics of these vehicles are something we have dealt with before, and you can read about on the website, n332.es
Above all, you must abide by all traffic rules, because, as we said at the beginning, you are in a vulnerable position and these traffic laws are designed to try to keep you and other road users safe. If you do abide by the rules, you can have a long and happy experience of using any of these new forms of urban mobility.
