Newslink March
Motor Schools Association of Great Britain; driver training and testing
Motor Schools Association of Great Britain; driver training and testing
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For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
B<br />
C<br />
The evolution of road<br />
traffic marking chaos.<br />
Top, Photo B shows<br />
the empty circie<br />
painted on the road in<br />
the style of a miniroundabout...<br />
Photo C, council<br />
workmen pay a visit<br />
in the dead of night to<br />
remove it...<br />
and Photo D, after all<br />
the fuss, what looks<br />
like a small but<br />
standardised<br />
mini-roundabout ...<br />
D<br />
New rules on<br />
scooters call<br />
The European Transport Safety<br />
Council (ETSC) and the Parliamentary<br />
Advisory Council for Transport Safety<br />
(PACTS) have set out what they say<br />
should be a minimum safety standard<br />
for powered scooters.<br />
Included in the new strategy is a<br />
20 km/h factory-set speed limit, larger<br />
wheels, a ban on passengers and<br />
pavement riding, compulsory helmets<br />
and a minimum age for riders of 16.<br />
The report is in response to the<br />
rapid growth of e-scooter usage over<br />
the last five years, and an associated<br />
increase in deaths and serious<br />
injuries. It takes into account a wide<br />
body of data, hospital studies, vehicle<br />
safety testing and research from<br />
across Europe and beyond.<br />
The regulatory picture for e-scooters<br />
is currently mixed, with considerable<br />
variations across Europe in rules on<br />
minimum age of riders, maximum<br />
power and speed, use of helmets and<br />
other aspects. The report also calls for<br />
common technical standards to be<br />
introduced as far as possible.<br />
The most important two regulations<br />
would mandate a minimum riding age<br />
of 16, or an age limit aligned with the<br />
minimum age for riding a moped; and<br />
for helmets to be compulsory. This is<br />
already the case in Denmark, Finland,<br />
Greece and Spain, while seven other<br />
European countries that allow children<br />
to ride scooters require helmets.<br />
There should also be a ban on<br />
riding with passengers, on pavements,<br />
while using a handheld mobile phone<br />
and under the influence of alcohol or<br />
drugs.<br />
PACTS and ETSC point out that<br />
many of its existing recommendations<br />
for safety improvements for vulnerable<br />
road users, such as 30 km/h speed<br />
limits, separated networks of cycle<br />
lanes, low traffic zones and higher<br />
levels of enforcement, will benefit all<br />
road users, including e-scooter users.<br />
CLICK HERE for more details on<br />
the report<br />
NEWSLINK n MARCH 2023 21
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