The end of last year saw the entry into force of a law that capped the design speed of electric scooters at 25 kilometers per hour and engine power at 1 kW.

However, the police come across scooters that go faster than 25 km/h, which include, in addition to vehicles where the speed limiter has been disabled, those that are faster than the design speed limit in stock configuration.

The amendment included a transitional provision, meaning that people who had bought a scooter with a power output greater than 1 kW before the change was introduced can continue using it, but only if the maximum speed has been limited to 25 km/h. This provision also applies to scooters in sellers' warehouses.

The ministry said that there are plenty of shops selling electric scooters that are faster or more powerful than the law permits. Authorities do not believe all of these were ordered before the changes took effect.

"Only a few sellers have included warnings that more powerful scooters cannot be used in traffic and can only be taken on private roads. [In the case of others] this constitutes misleading the consumer by selling them electric scooters that cannot be used on the road," the ministry wrote.

The interior ministry finds that in order to ensure traffic safety, the problem should be addressed in the early stages, on the level of scooter sales.

"Based on this, we request attention be paid to electric scooter sales and checks to be carried out in terms of compliance with requirements," the letter reads.

Number of personal light vehicle accidents up

The police have decided to start forwarding information about traffic violations by users of rental electric scooters to rental companies to try and prevent violations and lower the number of personal light electric vehicle accidents.

July alone has seen 33 accidents in which 35 persons have been injured. Usually, people riding the scooters fall because of an unfortunate maneuver or a collision with an object.

A number of accidents happen because the driver is under the influence of alcohol or because more than one person is riding the scooter. The latter are vehicles meant for a single rider who must be sober when operating them, Lt. Col. Sirle Loigo from the PPA's prevention and offense proceedings bureau said.

The authorities have registered 127 light personal electric vehicle accidents where people were hurt in the first six months of the year.

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