Tias Ayuntamiento will “shortly” introduce new rules that will regulate the use of electric scooters in the municipality, and especially Puerto del Carmen.
The rules will permit scooters to use urban roads with one or two lanes where the speed limit is 30 kph; however, they will only be permitted to reach a maximum speed of 25 kph on these roads.
The scooters will also be encouraged to use cycle paths where available, with a maximum speed of 10 kph. Pedestrians and cyclists will have right of way at all times on these paths.
The scooters will be forbidden from using pavements used by pedestrians, and similar rules about driving under the influence of drink or drugs apply to scooter users.
Only those over the age of 16 will be permitted to use electric scooters. Young people below that age who wish to use them will require a moped licence (this is only available to those over the age of 15).
Helmet use will be obligatory when using a scooter on municipal roads or cycle paths.
Personal mobility vehicles for the disabled and those with limited mobility are excluded from the definition of “personal mobility vehicle”, and users of these will continue to be regarded as pedestrians.
Tias Ayuntamiento hopes the new regulations will make the chaotic situation that has existed in regard to electric scooters clearer for both the public and police officers. That situation has been aggravated by overseas companies which have, over the last few years, left hundreds of electric scooters on the streets of Lanzarote without applying for the necessary licences to operate. Hundreds of these vehicles have been impounded by island authorities for causing obstruction to public thoroughfares or for lack of licences.
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