From 15 June, strict new guidelines apply to anybody using an electrical scooter in Norway. Here’s what you should know.
Love them or hate them, electrical scooters look like right here to remain. While they could be a genuinely helpful mode of transport in cities, the devices have additionally brought about too many accidents and accidents.
While Norwegian authorities have already cracked down on the variety of scooters on the streets, the regulation relating to their use was nonetheless a murky space–till now.
If you are somebody who likes to make use of a scooter to get residence after a number of drinks on a Friday evening, you must concentrate.
New guidelines after session
The Norwegian authorities has created new guidelines for using scooters after session with the scooter rental firms. First and foremost, the scooters will now be classed as a small electrical motorcar.
From fifteenth June, 2020, new guidelines prohibiting using electrical scooters whereas drunk shall be launched. Some teams of youthful persons are additionally banned from utilizing them, whereas others should put on a helmet.
However, the brand new guidelines cease wanting a ban of electrical scooters on pavements, a lot to the frustration of some.
![Electric scooter rental on a sidewalk in Oslo, Norway](https://www.lifeinnorway.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/electric-scooters-oslo-sidewalks-768x441.jpg)
“I’m glad we’re finally getting these rules in place,” stated transport minister Jon-Ivar Nygård in a press launch. “For too long we’ve seen an unacceptably high number of serious accidents and injuries among those using the scooters.”
The new guidelines defined
Once the brand new guidelines come into drive, anybody sufficiently old to have a driving license will face the identical drink-driving legal guidelines as in the event that they have been driving a automobile.
This implies that folks caught utilizing an electrical scooter with a blood alcohol stage of 0.2 or larger can lose their driving license.
In addition, nobody below the age of 12 shall be permitted to function a scooter. Those aged below 15 can use them, however should put on a helmet.
Requirements for legal responsibility insurance coverage have additionally been adopted. They will apply from September for the rental business, and from 2023 for personal house owners of electrical scooters.
![Scooters outside Oslo offices. Photo: Danne_l / Shutterstock.com.](https://www.lifeinnorway.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/scooters-outside-oslo-offices-768x492.jpg)
Pavement using is permitted
In a transfer that’s certain to frustrate many pedestrians, electrical scooters can nonetheless be operated on pavements and in different pedestrianised areas. The authorities dominated that forcing the scooters onto the street may lead to extra accidents, and extra deaths.
The Norwegian Council for Road Safety are among the many actors eager on a pavement ban.
They say pedestrians are essentially the most weak group of street customers and have to be ensured higher safety. They additionally advocate for stronger rules, regardless of welcoming the brand new guidelines.
“Although we are happy to see that there is now stricter regulation of these vehicles, we would like to see stronger regulation. If we look at other countries in Europe, regulation of these vehicles has already been put in place and in many cases we are talking about stricter regulation compared to what Norway has arrived at,” stated communications guide Ann-Helen Hansen.