Traffic legislation and safety in Europe concerning the moped - Swov

In France, mopeds are typically ridden by adolescents (12% are 14-15 years
old and 29% are 16-17 years old).
The southern European countries Italy and Spain, but also Germany and
France, are countries with a lot of mopeds. As a consequence the absolute
numbers of killed mopedists are also high in these countries.
The crash rate (the number of killed mopedists as a % of the total number of
killed road users) gives high values for the south European countries Italy,
Portugal and to a lesser degree for Spain. Only two countries (France and
Belgium) have a median score in the crash rate, but a bad score in the
vehicle rate (the number of killed mopedists per 100,000 mopeds).
Of the three European countries where the minimum age is 14 years, the
European CARE database allowed us to determine the number of deaths
among young mopedists. The share of the 14-15 year olds was lower than
that of the 16-18 year olds. Whether the lower age group's rate is also lower
is not known, because there is no known exposure data.
In Denmark in 1994, the scooter moped-45 was introduced. A significant
increase in the incidence rate was measured during the period 1996-2000.
The minimum age for this type of moped is 18 years and a driving licence is
obligatory.
In Austria in 1992, the theory certificate was introduced. The number of
16-17 year old casualties during the period 1987-1997 was halved. In 1997,
Austria lowered the minimum age from 16 to15 years for the moped.
Especially the number of 15 year olds injured increased a lot; it nearly
doubled.
In France the minimum age for riding a moped is 14 years. The percentagekilled
mopedists of 14-15 years old is lower than those of 16-17 years old
(they account for 11% and 22% of the total number of killed mopedists,
respectively). It is remarkable that mopeds are more often borrowed from the
owner than other types of two wheelers (30% of the cases). The researchers
are making the connection that due to this phenomenon, the mopedist does
not necessarily have sufficient driving experience.
French researches pay little attention to the influence of the minimum age of
riding and the number of casualties divided by age. They said that it is
standard that the age of most casualties is close to the age that it is
permitted to ride. In spite of this, the problems with the number of casualties
and the low age of 14 year are discussed.
In Switzerland a behaviour study was carried out in which young mopedists
and cyclists between 14 and 18 years were involved. In roughly 60% of the
crashes, they themselves cause the crash, mainly as a result of violation of
traffic regulations, and of lack of attention. The most important finding was
that female mopedists are 7 times more likely to have a crash than female
cyclists and 2.5 times more likely to have a fall (male mopedists only have 2
to 3 times more crashes than male cyclists). The difference according to the
Swiss researchers may be due to the fact that boys have already become
familiar as cyclists in exploring limits.
Specific problems, measures and effects
The questionnaire asked about the specific problems with mopeds. Different
European countries share the following problems.
− Tuned-up mopeds.
Eight of the eleven countries which sent in their information have
SWOV publication R-2004-10 53