electric scooter news ireland

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Your latest News on light electric transportation in Ireland

For the past couple of years we have seen the amount of electric vehicles, especially kick scooters, flourishing among bicycles and mopeds in all major cities around the US and Europe, thanks to companies like Bird and Lime who created this new trend in the recent years.

 

Not only this helped with traffic congestion due to less people driving their cars to work and around, but it also got many people to slash down their commute time often by more than half of what it would normally take them on a normal journey!

 

New road traffic Acts are going to change to adapt to those new vehicles and constant traffic and will continue as we're getting more electric vehicles in circulation.

 

The law in place right now isn't very clear as it stands because it implies that all electric or not mechanically powered vehicle (MPV) that can go without you pedalling (in other terms, if it moves by simply pressing a button) must be registered, taxed, insured and roadworthy if used on public roads.

Now, we know that pretty much implies pretty much ALL of the electric bicycles and kick scooters in circulation in Ireland today.

However, have you seen any electric bicycle with a registration plate? I'm sure not! And that's because it would be crazy if the Garda had to fine or brings to court every single bicycle that does not meet these regulations.

 

Recently, a Garda spokesperson has mentioned that kick scooters without seat should be fine as long as you respect the usual road traffic laws as you would do with a bicycle of course. I would also recommend the wear of helmets and high vis vest or jacket to prevent any accident or fatal injuries.

 

RTE wrote an article back in November about TD Noel Rock who 'seeks to clarify legality of electric scooter use' in the Republic.

However, I personally went to look for that bill on the oireachtas.ie website and didn't find any published bill nor has he published any draft legislation yet..? I know there has been a debate around the misuse of scramblers and quad bikes but that is another story all together.

We should hopefully see things changing in 2019 in Ireland as it already did in several other European countries in previous years.

Since the UK have the same issues with old road regulations not adapted to electric vehicles, Ireland will probably wait on them to copy on our neighbours when changes will be made..

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