The American company Lime, which has been making electric scooters available to the citizens of Poland, encourages them to ride on bicycle roads. In Poland, however, it is illegal.
Polish traffic regulations don’t include scooters, rollers, roller skates or segways, and there are more and more on our streets and sidewalks. So where is it legal to ride an electric scooter for example? Well, The Lime company encourage bike lanes, however, this is illegal.
– Bike lanes are by definition only for cyclists – explains Waldemar Forysiak from the city council.
Users of scooters maneuvering on narrow footpaths among pedestrians can, however, be dangerous, even if – according to representatives of Lime – the vehicles they make available have a maximum speed of 25 km / h.
– Electric scooters or skateboards seem to fulfill the definition of low-speed vehicles, as long as their speed is limited to 25 km / h. Such vehicles may travel on public roads with restrictions according to slow-moving vehicles – notes legal counsel Marcin Zatorski.
According to current laws, if you have a powered mode of transport with a capacity of over 250 watts activated with a throttle trigger, and without pedals, they are automatically treated as mopeds and you can not drive them on paths, and you must have a valid insurance in your pocket should you choose to use the roads. And remember, bike lanes are forbidden.
This is the absurd part. If you ride a scooter on a pavement you can get fined. There is a loophole however. If a person riding on an electric scooter does not move faster than a pedestrian, they will be able to go on the pavement.
These absurdities are to be corrected by the amendment to the Road Law Act, which is being prepared by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Construction. The new regulations are to introduce the definition of a personal transport device, i.e. powered by muscle power or an electric motor with a maximum speed of 25 km / h and a width of 90 cm. You will be able to ride them on bicycle lanes thus not needing an insurance document.
It’s just a shame we need to wait until at least 2020 for this law to become active. In the meantime, good luck with not getting fined!
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