E-scooter regulations to ban use for children under-18
'The motivation for all this is to try and protect our children'
JUNIOR Transport Minister Seán Canney has said that the main reason for new e-scooter regulations is to protect children from being hurt.
New proposals that will see e-scooters banned for children under-18 and require e-scooters to be licensed and registered were agreed on Monday following a meeting attended by the Junior Transport Minister, An Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Simon Harris, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan and the Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly.
Junior Transport Minister Canney believes the regulations are needed to prevent more fatalities and brain injuries occurring. A man died in University Hospital Galway last week after he was involved in an e-scooter collision and a recent report from Children’s Health Ireland has highlighted a 50 per cent increase in the number of children and young people being treated in hospital with brain injuries due to e-scooter incidents.
“The motivation for all this is to try and protect our children,” Junior Transport Minister and Galway East TD Seán Canney told The Tuam Herald.
“There are people out there using e-scooters in a proper fashion, but they have just become a toy for others to get a thrill out of. They are up on footpaths and breaking traffic lights.
“It’s scary what is going on at the moment and that manifests itself in Temple Street Children’s Hospital. There have been nine fatalities in the last couple of years due to e-scooter incidents, and the trauma that comes with a brain injury from these accidents is just unreal at the moment.”
The new regulations for e-scooter usage are due to be introduced in August after going before Cabinet next week. They will increase the legal age from 16 to 18 for e-scooter users and require users to wear a helmet and high-visibility clothing.
Legislation in September will change the description of e-scooters to a ‘mechanically propelled vehicle’ (MPV), the same classification as cars and motorbikes, and require e-scooters to be registered and fitted with a licence plate.
“It will mean we’ll be able to know who owns them and buys them. Existing e-bikes will have to be registered as well,” said Junior Transport Minister Canney.
“It will give a bit more clarity to Gardaí. There will also be legislation to protect Gardaí in pursuit of e-scooters in high-speed chases for example.”