Paris bans electric scooters on sidewalks, citing the increase in accidents

(CNN) – France will ban the electric scooters from its sidewalks from September, after the locals became frustrated by the congestion of vehicles by public areas and the increase in the number of accidents.

Thousands of electronic scooters have been installed in Paris and other cities since their launch just a year ago. Several companies operate scooter sharing systems in the capital.

But their use has caused tensions with the inhabitants and the French Minister of Transport admitted that they had led to accidents.

"The development of these scooters was very fast and a little chaotic, we did not see it coming and it became the law of the jungle," said Elisabeth Borne in Paris. "And it is true that we are seeing an increase in accidents but also a growing sense of discomfort on our sidewalks."

Announced riders will be fined 135 euros from September if they use electric scooters on the sidewalks.

"Our main goal is that pedestrians do not walk on the sidewalk for fear of being damaged," she said, adding that the operators themselves demanded "rules of good practice" and clarifications on the use of vehicles.

The young American company Lime, which runs a network of electric scooters in several cities and allows people to rent vehicles via an app, has aggressively penetrated the European market last year, with Paris as the only one in the world. one of its flagship sites. It has been followed by companies such as Tier, Bird and Uber.

However, questions were raised about product safety, and earlier this week, a much-awaited study in the United States revealed particularly high accident rates among new passengers.

One in three injured cyclists were injured on their first trip and about 63% of them had climbed nine or fewer times before their injury, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health. public Austin Texas. The researchers concluded that additional training might be required for electric scooter drivers.