Ireland will enjoy new legislation that governs the use of e-scooters on the open road. The government of Ireland recently passed the Road Traffic Bill that will legislate the use of e-scooters and e-bikes on Irish roads.
Cormac Reynolds, spokesperson for GreenElectricScooters.ie, has expressed the appreciation of the news and the anticipation of greater things to come. “While we are not 100% certain what all this will mean, we can venture a few educated guesses.”
Most likely, the legislation of e-scooters and e-bikes in Ireland will be much like the legislation of e-scooters and e-bikes in most European countries. In other words, we can expect e-scooters and e-scooter use will meet the following requirements.
25kmph speed limit
Variable speed limit in busier areas
Possibly a 250w cap on motor size
No requirement for tax or insurance
Ban on cruise control
It’s possibly like there will be a minimum age of usage of 16+
Of course, this is just a logical guess at the implications of the new legislation, but we will have to wait and see what happens. But we can see what a framework for responsible e-scooter use and application in traffic would look like from the example in place by other countries, says Cormac Reynolds.
Ireland is one of the last countries in Europe to legislate e-scooter use and also grimly beset by serious transportation issues and congested traffic in many urban areas. This means that many commuters will waste many hours a week sitting in traffic and e-scooters could provide relief to this unfortunate situation.
But e-scooters also have benefits for the environment that can’t go unappreciated. E-scooters and e-bikes are emission-free modes of transportation and this will greatly improve the air quality in urban areas as more commuters change to this responsible means of transportation. But even though the e-scooter and e-bike are emission-free in operations, they most certainly are not emission-free during production and fabrication.
The green electric scooter provides commuters an excellent option for trekking around the town. According to statistics gathered, most e-scooters are used for trips under 5 miles (68%) and 23% are used for trips under 1 mile. All this means a great alternative to using the car for a great many types of trips around the city.
While the promise of legislation is a great thing, we will still have to wait and see what happens next. The final touches on the legislation will be completed by the end of the year, but we will probably have to wait until next year to see how these changes have any effect.