Sándor Pintér, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of national security, said on 21 November 2019 that the Highway Code on the use of electric scooters may change in the future. Although it is not yet included in the KRESZ, it is only a matter of time before the future of electric scooters in Hungary all electric scooters should be considered mopeds, including the Xiaomi Mi M365 and Mi M365 Pro models.
Background on the regulation of electric scooters
The regulation of electric scooters has been dragging on for months in Hungary and in many other European countries. E-scooters, which have proliferated like mushrooms in recent years, are causing increasing problems for pedestrians and motorists in big cities. Until now, their unregulated use has been regulated only by banning them from districts and public areas. A statement issued on 21 November says: the electric scooter is not classified, so until the new amendment to the Highway Code, it can be driven as an auxiliary motorcycle, with a helmet, with a licence and cannot be driven on pavements.
This morning Parliament published Sándor Pintér's response to the "Why is an electric scooter an assist bike? Or do the police deliberately want to cause accidents with electric scooters on the roads?" question.
The official reply, posted on the Parliament's website you can find it here In PDF format.
Should the e-roller be treated as an auxiliary engine?
There was a short, pithy, clear response, which simply empowers the police to demand an E-helmet on scooter riders, but this is just the beginning. The most important change is that it requires, in addition to headgear:
- compulsory insurance to cover the at-fault party in the event of a collision,
- driving licences to prevent teenagers without a licence, who have never learned the Highway Code, from driving on public roads,
- that it is forbidden to drive them on the pavement, as a self-propelled vehicle cannot be a pedestrian,
- that it can travel at 45 km/h on public roads, like any other moped.
The essence of the instruction is that "the Police are obliged to act in accordance with the law", i.e. it can require all scooter riders to wear compulsory equipment on scooters and mopeds, such as helmets, and to have compulsory insurance and a licence to drive them.
The regulation was necessary because there have been several fatalities and property damage accidents involving e-vehicles, especially in the last six months. E-scooter rental companies must therefore be prepared for the regulation and dealers are expected to be alerted to the changed conditions of use before making a purchase. No official regulation on the latter has yet been found.
Important to notethat the declaration an interpretation of the law, it is important to "unless otherwise specified" term. So the police can already act on the basis of this, even though it is not included in the Highway Code. They cannot yet ask for compulsory insurance (Xiaomi scooters do not have a chassis number), but they can already check the use of the cycle path and the helmet.
What do you think? Do you think this drastic form of regulation was necessary?
