Electric scooter accidents in Montpellier: serious bodily injury and users rarely insured

Scooter users are taking over public space, off the tracks and roads provided for them. Free Midi – GIACOMO ITALIANO

Two deaths in one week, a third victim between life and death. Electric scooter accidents are becoming more and more frequent, as there are more and more of them in public spaces. These machines are also abnormally fast. However, few users are insured despite the regulations requiring them to do so.

"In scooters, trauma is severe, accidents generate serious bodily harm, including brain damage. There is a wind of illegality, of freedom, we ride without helmets, unbridled, uninsured, which creates serious problems at the time of repair", recalls Maître Jean -René Briant, lawyer specializing in compensation for damages for accident victims.

Unregistered, a scooter is rarely ticketed or seized

An obligation that most users ignore, deliberately, but most often unintentionally."Communication is very poorly done, underlines an insurer. Ask Montpellier: one in ten scooter riders must be! Which leads to hit-and-runs. We also tend to believe that home civil liability is enough to cover risks, wrongly.

Without insurance "from 6 km/h and up to 25 km/h", according to article L324-2 of the Highway Code, the fine incurred can go up to 3 750 euros. And in the event of a responsible accident, the victim will have to be compensated.

Insurers are also developing personal protection guarantees. "A bumpy road, a pothole, a block, a poorly placed bollard… without guarantee, compensating an accident of which you are both the author and the victim is very complicated, indicates the lawyer.< /p>

Impossible to know if a scooter is restricted or not

Does a community have a duty to set itself an objective of zero road safety? For Julie Frêche, it’s yes. "At present, the 4 agents of the soft mobility and incivility regulation brigade – soon 7- are not able to see if a scooter is unrestrained or not. Unregistered, it cannot be impounded like rodeo motorcycles. This type of motorized personal transport vehicle (EPDM) must travel at a maximum of 25 km/h. In France, purchases of scooters now exceed those of bicycles. The regulatory framework must evolve."

In the meantime, avenue Albert Dubout, reserved for cyclists, suffers from the presence of undesirable scooters, increasing the risk of collision."The video verbalization will soon be extended to this area", promises the elected official.

What are the obligations ?

Traffic à Electric scooter imposes some obligations on you. its driver. Among these, the minimum age requirement which is 14 years, the ban on wearing headphones while driving, on driving at high speeds. several on the machine or even the need to to have suitable lighting and a fluorescent vest when used at night. The police also insist on not taking the cycle paths nearby. wrong-way traffic. The maximum authorized speed is 25 km/h but a fine of 1,500 euros. is expected if it is demonstrated that the machine was é voluntarily unbridled.

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