Gardaí have recorded not less than 1,373 “traffic incidents” involving e-scooters, together with 440 collisions, in the last 2½ years, newly launched figures present.
Some 269 e-scooters have been seized by Gardaí in the identical interval.
The figures come as work continues in Government on laws to control e-scooter use.
Between the beginning of this 12 months and the top of July, there have been 453 e-scooter visitors incidents, which compares to 640 for all of 2021 and 280 in 2020.
More than two-thirds of the e-scooter visitors incidents — 67 per cent — have been recorded in the Dublin area.
Limerick accounted for five per cent of incidents between the beginning of 2020 and the top of July 2022, whereas Cork had 4 per cent and Kildare 3.6 per cent.
A Garda assertion mentioned 440 of the incidents concerned a visitors collision. It mentioned that such collisions included incidents that have been deadly or concerned severe and non-serious accidents and others that brought on materials injury solely in addition to these ensuing in no accidents or injury.
[ Two deaths, 42 serious injuries due to e-scooter collisions since 2020 ]
[ Electric bikes and e-scooters with top speeds of 25km/h to be exempt from regulation ]
Last week The Irish Times reported that two folks have died and 42 extra suffered severe accidents from collisions involving e-scooters for the reason that begin of 2020.
The figures for the general degree of visitors incidents are based mostly on these which occurred from January 1st, 2020, to July twenty seventh, 2022, they usually come from operational knowledge on the Garda Pulse system which the assertion mentioned is “liable to change”.
The scooters and electrical bikes will likely be exempt from registration, tax or insurance coverage if they’re unable to journey at speeds above 25km/h underneath Government plans to control their use.
The Road Traffic and Roads Bill will legislate for e-bikes and e-scooters.
Minister of State on the Department of Transport Hildegarde Naughton advised the Dáil that e-scooters will now be reclassified as “powered personal transporters“.
Technical and safety standards will be set down for them, she said. “Only vehicles which are type approved can be registered and accordingly it is not intended that powered personal transporters will require registration,” she mentioned.
Up to now, amid an absence of particular laws e-scooters ought to in principle be topic to car registration, tax and insurance coverage. However, the extent of enforcement of such guidelines is unclear.
Gardaí have seized 269 e-scooters for the reason that begin of 2020 underneath part 41 of the Road Traffic Act which empowers them to confiscate automobiles. This part of the Act permits gardaí to grab automobiles if there are breaches of laws surrounding driver licences, insurance coverage, tax and the age of the driving force.
The Garda assertion supplied no info on which particular provisions underneath part 41 have been used to grab e-scooters in current years. The gardaí mentioned that seizures primarily occurred throughout its 5 Dublin divisions with different divisions throughout the nation having fewer than 10 seizures every over the interval in query.