Benidorm Local Police seized five electric scooters during random checks throughout august, for not complying with current municipal regulations. These actions are part of a campaign of random controls arising from an agreement between the local Council and the Directorate General of Traffic.
The controls have been carried out randomly throughout the month and lasting ten minutes in different parts of the town. The result has been five scooters seized by the agents after detecting that they were not complying with the regulations in cases such as lacking compulsory insurance or exceeding the maximum speed established for this type of vehicle due to having been tampered with.
The Councillor for Citizen Security, Jesús Carrobles, has indicated that these controls “add to the ordinary activity of the Local Police who denounce the owners of scooters when they do not comply with the ordinance for different aspects such as speeding, driving through improper places or not wearing a helmet, for example”.
Carrobles recalled that Benidorm is a “pioneering” city in the regulation of these vehicles “thanks to the municipal ordinance approved in 2019”. In this sense, he has stressed that in Benidorm scooters must have insurance, rear light, front bell and users are required to wear a vest and helmet, in addition to driving through areas such as the bike lane where they do not coexist with pedestrians.
It is also prohibited to drive with headphones connected, to do so at a speed greater than 30 km/h or to drive on pavements, paved walks, parks or pedestrian areas. Many of the rules are standard nationally, but Benidorm has added elements to make their use safer.
The ordinance also establishes that the minimum age to ride a scooter is 16 years and its use is for one person.
The councillor has affirmed that “we work so that the use of scooters is in accordance with the ordinance in all cases” and on this he added that the controls “are not only made on the drivers, but also on the scooter rental companies because they also have to comply with the regulations”.
On the other hand, according to data from the Local Police, so far in August eight incidents involving scooters have been reported.
Whereas Benidorm may well be a pioneer in these rules, the same concept can easily be applied to any town hall or municipality, it is just that many of them seemingly lack the willingness to do so.
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