THE DIRECTOR OF a chain of e-scooter shops has said they welcome the new regulations, but the responsibility for enforcement must lie with parents and gardaí.

Paddy O’Brien, director of LOCO Scooters, told The Journal that he agrees with many of the new rules that have been adopted by the government.

On Monday, the government agreed to ban e-scooters for under-18s from next month, delaying a decision on an outright ban for now.

They also announced plans for helmets and high-vis vests to be made mandatory from next month, and later this year legislation will be introduced to require licensing and registration.

O’Brien, whose business has locations in Dublin and Cork, said they “broadly welcome” the new rules, highlighting the rule for mandatory helmets and hi-vis as “commendable”.

However, he questioned how effective the ban for under-18s will be, given the issues with much younger kids getting injured while using them and that the law already prevents those under than 16 from using them: “What does changing a six to an eight do for those 12-year-olds?”

O’Brien doesn’t believe raising the age to 18 “gets down into the weeds of that problem” and is calling for parents to take more responsibility. 

He wants specific legislation to protect retailers when they’re refusing to sell an e-scooter to someone they suspect is buying it for their underage child, “much like you going into a supermarket or an off-licence to buy cigarettes”.

O’Brien said they do not sell e-scooters to those under the minumun age and always require ID to buy the vehicles in their shops. 

According to O’Brien, retailers are limited in how they can enforce these rules, and it should not be their responsibility to “exercise moral superiority over the legal entitlement of an adult to buy an electric scooter” 

He’s calling for heavy fines to be imposed on parents who purchase e-scooters for their children “because people think with their pockets on most occasions”.

An outright ban

The government has not ruled out a total ban on e-scooters, should these new rules not reduce injuries. 

O’Brien is firmly against a total ban. He said the main issues are “injuries to kids who are already using them illegally, and then antisocial behaviour which is already illegal”. 

If an outright ban was introduced, Ireland would be an outlier but some European cities, like Brussels and Paris, have banned e-scooter rentals.

O’Brien said a total ban would be unfairly punishing people who use e-scooters legally and would be “counterintuitive” and “lack nuance”. 

“If the legislation is accurate and is upheld correctly and is policed sufficiently, electric scooters will form a very, very useful part of the mobility mix.”