Electric Scooters are here to stay. They are a lifeline for the mobility of thousands of people in Torrevieja and Orihuela, towns where the urban transport service fails to meet the needs of the population.
Indeed, in Orihuela and Orihuela Costa it does not exist beyond a minimal service to local hospitals and to Zenia Boulevard. In Torrevieja, the service is rather better, although only the most foolish would rely on public transport to get to their workplace or to a doctor’s or hospital appointment.
Getting around on a scooter, however, is economical, very flexible and also undemanding when it comes to meeting important requirements that are a prerequisite for other vehicles, such as mandatory insurance, wearing a helmet or needing a driving license that ensures you have a minimum notion of the traffic rules. And that is the big problem that the Guardia Civil Traffic Officers and the local police encounter every day.
We have all seen such vehicles weaving in and out of pedestrians as they are ridden up and down busy pavements, scooters with two riders, scooters travelling on regional or national roads, a daily scene across the region, especially on the coast, where business and competition between mobility vehicle rental companies flourish.
But the fact that there are so many legal gaps, and a complete lack of legislation, mandatory training and uniformity at both state and local level, is perhaps the most worrying, especially with regard to road safety training among minors. While Orihuela imposed the mandatory use of helmets in 2022 Torrevieja only advises it, although even in the former municipality there is little evidence that users comply.
The DGT does not require riders to have a license or scooter insurance, as a result of which more and more underage users are riding these personal mobility vehicles in towns like Torrevieja and Orihuela. They have barely any road or traffic knowledge, which, according to the Guardia Civil and Local Police, in the last two years, can be seen in both municipalities with the large increase in accidents involving scooter riders.
Police sources now insist in the importance of councils and the educational bodies investing in training for minors who use scooters as, in the case of one local officer, “They are not required to have a license or insurance and they usually have no idea about traffic regulations.”
And at this time of the year the authorities are also increasingly concerned about Christmas. With many parents thinking about buying scooters for their offspring, it is important they are aware of the dangers and regulations surrounding such vehicles.
They are opening their young, inexperienced, children to the dangers of busy roads, sanctioning hazards that could prove to have a disastrous effect. At the very least all parents have a responsibility to ensure that their child understands how to operate an e-scooter safely, they understand the rules surrounding their use, they are properly equipped and they wear a helmet as well as protective and reflective clothing.
