German cities association demand clearer rules for e-scooters
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E-mail Xinhua, August 5, 2019
Clearer rules were needed for electric pedal-scooters (e-scooters) in Germany, the German Association of Cities announced on Monday.
"There are many people who like to use the vehicles but many consider them to be toys rather than means of transport," Helmut Dedy, chief executive officer of the German Association of Cities, told the German editorial network RND.
"We need clearer rules, which must be binding. The suppliers must better inform their customers about the rules-compliant use" and suppliers needed to ensure that the vehicles "do not stand around everywhere," noted the head of the German Association of Cities.
Since mid-June, e-scooters have been allowed to drive in German cities and several suppliers made the vehicles available for hire in cities.
The scooters were allowed to drive between 6 and 20 kilometers per hour and were only allowed to be driven on cycle paths or the road.
"As the first weeks with the electric scooters show, we have also underestimated the initial difficulties, not everything is running smoothly yet," noted Dedy.
The chairman of the transport committee in the German Bundestag, the Green politician Cem Oezdemir, accused German Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer of inaction on the e-scooters.
"Scheuer has admitted them and no longer feels responsible for any further problems. At the same time, the conditions of use must be clarified," Oezdemir told the RND.
The German Association of Cities also considered additional controls by the police to be necessary, particularly for violations of traffic rules, such as driving on the sidewalk or even driving under the influence of alcohol.
The number of accidents involving e-scooters had been increasing in Germany and Scheuer had called on local authorities to take tougher action.
In a letter to President of the German Association of Cities Burkhard Jung, Scheuer wrote that "in order to guarantee the protection of weaker road users at all times, we depend on the cooperation of cities and municipalities".
At the weekend, Germany's largest social association VdK had demanded stricter rules for electric pedal scooters in German cities.
"The risk is highest for small children, the elderly and people with disabilities," VdK President Verena Bentele told the German editorial network.
German disability associations also took a critical view of the new vehicles. "E-pedal scooters can be a real trip hazard," warned Stephan Heinke, head of the joint environment and transport committee at the German association for the blind and visually impaired.
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