New call for tighter regulation of e-scooters

AA Ireland has called for tighter regulation on e-scooter use on Irish roads before what it predicted as the potential for a “tsunami” of incidents involving e-scooters.

On foot of the sharing of footage across social media platforms of an e-scooter user weaving in and out of traffic on Dublin’s M50, AA Ireland’s Head of Communications Paddy Comyn is calling upon legislators to ensure helmet use is compulsory and that all e-scooters will have some form of registration to the user, to allow for identification to ensure proper enforcement of rules.

“Incidents such as the one on the M50 over the past weekend show that more will need to be done to ensure that e-scooter users aren’t allowed to be a danger to themselves or other road users.

"These vehicles must be prevented from being altered to operate at higher speeds, helmet use must be compulsory and there should be some form of registration that allows for identification of users to allow for detection and punishment,” says AA Ireland's Head of Communications, Paddy Comyn.

“With the likely arrival of a number of e-scooter rental companies, soon, we could be on the eve of a potential tsunami of incidents relating to eScooters. We shouldn’t wait for any more high-profile incidents before ensuring we do the right thing, which we can do right now,” adds Comyn.