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Italy to implement helmets, insurance coverage for e-scooter riders after mishaps

Italy's parliament on Wednesday authorized an expense that will need escooter riders to wear helmets and be insured, while also presenting tougher fines for rogue parking as part of a broader overhaul of the highway code.

Like in other European nations, e-scooter usage has risen in Italy over the last few years. But the boom has actually also brought an increase in mishaps and complaints from motorists and pedestrians about riders flouting security and parking rules.

No more wild scooters, Transportation Minister Matteo Salvini said in a social networks post, including that e-scooter users will likewise be needed to get license plates and be banned from cycle lanes, pedestrianised areas and non-urban roads.

National stats institute ISTAT stated in July that road accidents with injuries including e-scooters rose to 3,365 in 2023, with 21 deaths, up from 2,929 injuries and 16 deaths in 2022.

Other nations in Europe have likewise limited e-scooter use. In 2015, the French capital Paris banned rented two-wheeled electric automobiles following a referendum, while Madrid withdrew their licences in September.

Italy's Senate gave final approval to the brand-new highway code in a 83-47 vote.

The reform includes stiffer penalties for drink-driving or the use of drugs, and a jail regard to as much as 7 years for those who abandon animals on the roadway, resulting in mishaps.

Salvini, who is likewise deputy prime minister and leader of the hard-right League celebration, stated the brand-new rules were prepared after broad assessments with a typical goal: lower the carnage on Italian roads.

Supporters of e-scooters, which in cities like Rome and Milan are popular with residents and travelers, state they supply a. zero-pollution and low-cost alternative to public transport or. other movement choices.

Giorgio Cappiello, the head of institutional relations in. Italy for rental business Bird, stated the reform was totally. ideological and companies had reported no casualties on their. vehicles in 2022 and 2023.

(source: Reuters)