The public prosecutor has ordered preliminary investigation into the legal framework for the operation of Lime scooters in the city of Thessaloniki, Northern Greece. The investigation follows a lawsuit submitted submitted by a citizen.
Assigned with the investigation is the local Traffic Police that has to explore whether there is a legal framework for the electric scooters and if provisions of the Traffic Code are violated.
The lawsuit was submitted by a citizen last week who argued that the use of the scooters is “out of control” and furthermore also “illegal.”
The electric scooters went in operation in Thessaloniki over the past few months as part of a pilot program.
Especially many young people in the city make use of them praising the eco-friendly means of transportation and the easy handling.
At the same time, there are concerns about the absence of a legislative and regulatory framework for the scooters that it hinders “the safe coexistence of scooters with pedestrians and vehicles.”
There have been reports of accidents caused by the scooter ‘drivers’ and thus no only in Thessaloniki but also in Athens where the scooters appeared last month. Majority of such accidents goes unrecorded.
However, the collision between a 16-year-old scooter ‘driver’ with a car in Kalamaria mid-March ended in hospital where the teenager received first aid. This was the first officially recorded accident of this kind.
On the occasion of this incident, Thessaloniki Mayor Yannis Boutaris had said that the use of electric scooters has become dangerous” and proposed to reduce their speed limit at 5 to 10 km per hour.
Local media parallaxi mag notes ironically “we got scared of the electric scooters” and points out that should there be a legislative framework for scooters, there should also be one for bicycles.
Much to KTG’s knowledge there is not legislative framework for the electric scooters.
Australia has reportedly already started to fine users of electric scooters for traffic violations, and some states in the US consider them as a challenge for traffic especially in big cities.
