E-scooter

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
different e-scooters

An e-scooter , e-scooter or electric scooter is a small electric vehicle that is similar to a scooter , but is usually not driven by pedaling, but by an electric motor. It is still possible to move around by pedaling. There are versions with and without a seat so that the driver sits or stands. The term e-scooter is also used for electric scooters and electric vehicles, which are not meant here.

purpose

Electric scooters are designed for use over short distances, for example from home to the nearest city train station or from the car parking lot to home if there is no parking space in front of the house. In this context, the operators speak of the “last mile”. Many cities have seen the introduction of e-scooter rental offers ( e-scooter sharing ) positively and hope that their use will also reduce car traffic and thus relieve the tense traffic situation and the need for parking spaces .

E-scooter rental

Rental scooter in Cologne

Many e-scooters are not privately owned, but are rented out by rental companies for individual trips. Registered interested parties can use an app to locate the vehicles and borrow them using an unlock code. Payment is made with a credit card for every minute used and / or per trip distance, some providers charge a basic fee for every rental. In large cities such as San Francisco, Washington DC, Las Vegas, Paris and Vienna, electric scooters are part of the cityscape (as of early 2019).

In large German cities such as Berlin , Dresden , Cologne and Munich, numerous companies have already set up hundreds or even thousands of e-scooters since June 2019.

Structure and properties

  • An electric scooter is a vehicle made of plastic, steel, aluminum or carbon with two (rarely three) wheels with a step between them. The handlebar, which can also be designed as a stick, rises above the front wheel. The lightest models weigh approx. 7 kg, the heaviest models more than 20 kg.
  • The hoops are 5 to 12 inches (12.5 to 30 cm) in diameter. A distinction is made between three categories of tires:
    (a) Solid rubber tires: The majority of the electric scooters available on the market have solid rubber tires . Their advantage is that they cannot lose air during cuts, are robust and have a long service life. On the other hand, they are also relatively hard and heavy and can hardly absorb vibrations and shocks.
    (b) Pneumatic tires: tires that are filled with air. They offer greater driving comfort as they cushion vibrations and bumps better than solid rubber tires. However, air-filled tires are more prone to damage, for example from sharp stones or objects with sharp edges or broken glass.
    (c) Air chamber tires: This is a mixture of solid rubber and pneumatic tires, which are intended to combine the advantages of these two variants. The tire is made of plastic and is divided into chambers (segmented) so that only insignificant amounts of air escape if the tread is damaged.
  • The electrical energy for the motor is supplied by a rechargeable battery , which is installed either under the running board, in the handlebar or in the area of ​​the front tire. Lithium-ion batteries are used in most models . Some models offer the option of installing an additional battery or replacing the existing battery.
  • In order to be able to drive legally on public roads in Germany, electric scooters must have lighting (front and rear), a bell, two independent brakes and an insurance sticker from an insurance company.
  • The speed that can be achieved with an electric scooter depends in particular on the strength of the electric motor, the weight of the driver, the gradient and the road conditions. Some models can reach speeds of up to 40 km / h. In the approved cities, individual speed limits may apply, which are adhered to through technical measures.
  • Electric scooters have two independent brakes: an electric brake on the front wheel and a mechanical fender brake on the rear wheel. Disc brakes or drum brakes are also used as braking systems . Better models have a commercial or recuperation that with every braking operation supplies the battery power and thus increases the range.

Street legal

Legal situation in Germany

A designated parking space for e-scooters in the old town of Cologne

In Germany, electric scooters have been legal on public roads since June 15, 2019. Electric scooters are approved up to a maximum of 20 km / h, no test is required for driving, but a minimum age of 14 years is required. For details on registration and road use in Germany, see

Before, electric scooters were only allowed to be used on public roads if they had all the features that are required for a moped, i.e. a permanently installed seat, built-in lighting, rearview mirror, dual brakes, license plates, liability insurance and StVZO conformity test.

There is compulsory use on cycle paths or lanes. If there are none, the scooter driver must use the lane. Driving on sidewalks, including in tourist centers, is prohibited and can be fined. It is also forbidden to drive two people on the scooter area. So far, helmets are not compulsory, but this question is hotly debated because of accidents that have already occurred within a short period of time.

Legal situation in Austria

Electric scooters with a design speed of up to 25 km / h and a drive power of a maximum of 600 watts are legally treated like a bicycle in Austria. This is regulated in § 2 Paragraph 1 Z 22 lit d StVO in conjunction with § 1 Paragraph 2a KFG 1967. In Austria, driving an electric scooter is only allowed on traffic areas on which bicycles are allowed to drive. Driving on sidewalks and in pedestrian zones is only permitted if the vehicle is only used as a kick scooter with your own muscle power. The rule of conduct also applies here, as in other traffic areas, that pedestrians must not be hindered or endangered.

In order for e-scooters to be legally used on the road in Austria, they must have an effective braking device, reflectors (white front, red rear) and, in the dark, a white light in front or a red light in the back. In contrast to Germany, neither a license plate nor liability insurance is required by law.

Legal situation in Switzerland

The Federal Roads Office ASTRA has its compilation of the most important regulations on the registration and operation of motor bikes and electric rickshaws updated on February 1 of 2019. E-scooters fall under the vehicle subtype of light motorcycles.

Legal situation in various European countries

In most European countries, the speed limit for e-scooters is 25 km / h. Only in Italy, Sweden and Greece are only 20 km / h allowed. Furthermore, there are different regulations regarding the minimum age from country to country. In Greece, for example, it is only allowed to drive e-scooters from the age of 18.

criticism

General

Criticism of electric scooters has been made in several ways. First, according to the German Society for Trauma Surgery (DGU), they pose a considerable risk of accidents; In particular, traumatic brain injuries and injuries to the ankles (the “running boards on the scooter are deep so that the foot can quickly get caught underneath”) are feared. Other road users should find it difficult to adjust to the new vehicles. Critics point to the increased number of accidents due to e-scooters, for example in the USA .

Overturned rental scooter on the sidewalk in Warsaw

Carbon footprint

Both environmental friendliness and carbon footprint are viewed critically. The term “environmentally friendly” only applies to e-scooters if they actually replace car journeys. The production of the batteries is very energy-intensive, and the extraction of the raw materials required for this is often associated with great environmental pollution (see also the environmental balance of lithium-ion batteries ). Another problem for the environmental balance is that the vehicles often only have a very short lifespan due to poor quality, very fast innovation cycles (see also obsolescence ) or vandalizing disposal in lakes and rivers . According to studies, in sharing operations it is sometimes only between 28 days and three months. Due to the frequent need to replace the battery, the environmental balance is negative and the electric scooter is “not particularly environmentally friendly”. So far, there has only been one smaller study which, based on estimates, has found a positive ecological balance for e-scooters compared to other means of transport.

The nightly charging of the e-scooter by the so-called “juicers” (self-employed people who are mostly precariously dependent), who drive their cars with combustion engines through the city centers twice a night (to pick them up and return them), also worsens the ecological balance.

Danger to other road users

As part of the approval of e-scooters in Germany in May 2019, there was widespread criticism, especially from senior citizens and the disabled and their representatives, but also from pedestrians in general. They fear considerable danger and uncertainty in their previously safe road traffic area, the footpaths. E-scooters are more than twice as fast as pedestrians and sometimes even as cyclists. In addition, they are barely audible, warned Siegfried Brockmann from accident research at insurers. But e-scooters are also problematic on bike paths or on the street. The ADFC sees the approval of e-scooters as an opportunity, but criticizes the fact that cyclists now also have to share the already inadequate cycle paths with e-scooter drivers. The police union is also warning about e-scooters; they could worsen the already heated situation in inner-city traffic. In addition, the officials are unable to moderate and control additional rolling e-traffic on sidewalks. As a result, many Germans are afraid of e-scooters (36% fear e-scooters in a YouGov survey). In order to counter this fear and criticism, the sharing providers have started to teach traffic rules for handling the e-scooters in voluntary introductory courses.

The Bavarian State Supreme Court ruled in mid-August 2020, the last instance that an electric scooter driver for drunk driving on the scooter handlebar including the withdrawn license is. The criminal senate thus equated the e-scooter with a motor vehicle for which an absolute driving inability limit of 1.1 per thousand applies. The verdict was 2200 euros fine, a three-month driving ban for all types of vehicles (including e-scooters) and the confiscation of his driver's license for seven months. A judicial spokesman said that there is a supreme court ruling on the alcohol limits for e-scooters. Although courts in Germany can still judge at their own discretion, the public prosecutor's offices can now rely on the Bavarian judgment for appeals or appeals.

privacy

The Hamburg data protection officer, Johannes Caspar , points out that many providers only made e-scooters available with considerable interference in the privacy of the users. Every meter covered is recorded and can be combined into a movement profile. Usually contact data, account data, data on the use of the Internet offer, possibly data from linked third-party services, data that are provided by the providers through marketing and advertising partners about the customer, as well as the location data, in addition to the borrowing and storage location, would usually be collected of the e-scooter also covered the entire journey. This data is extremely interesting from an economic point of view for the lenders themselves, for business partners, advertisers and for local providers of goods and services, and fuel for digitally driven business processes.

Accident reports

After a period of one month in which the e-scooters were used in Berlin (June 15 to July 16, 2019), the police submitted an initial detailed accident report. After that, 21 accidents were registered, with four seriously injured and 15 slightly injured. 18 of these accidents were caused by scooter drivers. Every third accident occurred without the participation of other road users. In Cologne, too, initial accident statistics indicate that accidents with e-scooters are often self-inflicted. In the period from June to November 2019, 104 traffic accidents with 109 injuries involving e-scooters were recorded. E-scooter drivers were responsible for 88 percent of this. The most important problems were confirmed:

  1. Many drivers overestimate their skills.
  2. Little attention is paid to the fact that the same alcohol limits apply to users of the scooter according to the traffic regulations. It is also possible to award penalty points that affect an existing driver's license.
  3. The driving dynamics and stability are worse than in all other small vehicles; the feet and head are extremely endangered when touching or falling. The user is not securely connected to the step, there are deficits in handling the technology.
  4. Anyone traveling without insurance is committing a crime.
  5. The ban on using sidewalks, parks or pedestrian zones is ignored.
  6. It is forbidden to ride with a second person on the vehicle, but it has been observed several times.
  7. Three people who had caused the accidents even hit the road.

Most of the people who caused accidents were tourists in the inner city. An increase in the problems cannot be ruled out because more and more residents are likely to buy and use e-scooters privately.

The federal government is funding a study by two groups of scientists with one million euros, in the context of which injuries and their origin are to be ascertained and countermeasures to be shown.

A short Germany-wide accident report was published in July 2020. According to this, the police registered 251 accidents with e-scooters within the first three months of 2020. One of these accidents was fatal, 39 drivers were seriously injured and 182 people were slightly injured. The rest went without any injuries.

Fire hazard

It has been shown that the batteries of e-scooters, pedelecs and other devices equipped with batteries of the same type can spontaneously self-ignite. There is now a supplier of fire safety bags for these batteries.

Historical predecessors

The predecessor of the e-scooter is the autoped , a motor scooter from the USA, which was manufactured from 1915 to 1921 and was built in Germany under license as a Krupp scooter (but also equipped with a seat). This was not available for hire and was only available for purchase. According to the American historian Norton, the autoped was not a great success for various reasons. In his opinion, the autoped was too heavy, bulky and uncomfortable, unsprung, and in particular the scooter drivers at the time did not know where to ride best: "On the road it was too stressful for the autopeds, on the sidewalk mostly forbidden."

Web links

Commons : E-Scooter  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Electric scooter test - pay attention to this with the e-scooter. In: Tretroller, Kickbikes, Scooter and more ... February 18, 2019, accessed on December 25, 2019 (German).
  2. ↑ Federal Law Gazette Part 1, No. 21 of June 14, 2019 Bundesanzeiger Verlag GmbH, accessed on June 14, 2019
  3. ↑ Street legal e-scooter . Retrieved July 1, 2019 .
  4. ↑ E-scooter comparison . Retrieved July 1, 2019 . .
  5. ↑ E-Scooter Law Austria: The legal situation 2019. In: scooterpilot.net. August 20, 2019, accessed on October 12, 2019 (German).
  6. ↑ Compilation of the most important regulations on the approval and operation of motorcycles and electric rickshaws (as of Feb. 1, 2019). In: electric scooter. Accessed December 9, 2019 (German).
  7. ↑ Using e-scooters abroad: Which rules apply? In: Scooter experts. August 15, 2019, accessed on January 28, 2020 (German).
  8. ↑ Germany's trauma surgeons warn against e-scooters. In: Der Tagesspiegel . May 17, 2019, accessed May 20, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Trauma surgeons warn against electric scooters. In: Der Spiegel . May 17, 2019, accessed May 20, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Hundreds of people injured in electric scooter accidents in the United States. Spiegel Online, February 7, 2019, accessed April 19, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Environmentally friendly electric scooters? It's not that clear. In: The world . May 17, 2019, accessed May 20, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Germany allows electric scooters - just now Paris is thinking of the ban. In: Focus Money . May 17, 2019, accessed May 20, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Andreas Albert, Emil Nefzger, Nils-Viktor Sorge: Germany is gearing up for the e-scooter boom. In: Der Spiegel . November 17, 2018, accessed May 20, 2019 .
  14. ↑ E-scooters cause discussions: TIERisches in Innsbruck. meinviertel.at , June 13, 2019.
  15. ↑ E-scooter CO2 balance - a scientific study on the ecological balance. In: Epowers. Accessed June 14, 2019 (German).
  16. ^ Kilian Jörg: E-Scooter in Cities: Ecologically Disastrous . In: The daily newspaper: taz . August 2, 2019, ISSN  0931-9085 ( taz.de [accessed October 14, 2019]).
  17. ↑ Ralf-Dieter May: E-scooters are no benefit for the environment. In the background. The news magazine, issue 3/2019, p. 28
  18. ↑ Dangerous, annoying, traffic pointless: E-scooters on sidewalks. Fachverband Fußverkehr Deutschland FUSS e. V. , accessed April 19, 2019 .
  19. ↑ Andreas Böhnisch: What is rolling towards us? SWR aktuell, April 3, 2019, accessed on April 19, 2019 .
  20. ↑ E-scooters are coming: New mobility or safety risk? Merkur.de, April 3, 2019, accessed on April 19, 2019 .
  21. ↑ YouGov survey commissioned by scooter experts. Retrieved November 4, 2019 .
  22. ↑ E-scooter crash courses This is how providers want to prevent accidents. berliner-zeitung.de, August 11, 2019, accessed on August 14, 2019 .
  23. ↑ Susi Wimmer: 300 very expensive meters on the e-scooter. SZ, August 25, 2020
  24. ↑ E-Scooter - The data goes with you . In: The Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information , September 13, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  25. ↑ Max Braunleder: 88% of e-scooter accidents are self-inflicted - scooter comparison. In: www.scootervergleich.net. April 30, 2020, accessed April 30, 2020 .
  26. ↑ Frank Schattling: Risk on two wheels. In: Berliner Zeitung , July 19, 2019, p. 1.
  27. ↑ Simon Hage, Alexander Kühn, Guido Mingels, Emil Nefzger, Anton Rainer, Gerald Traufetter, Christian Wüst, Helene Zuber: Without helmet and understanding . In: Der Spiegel . No. 37 , 2019, pp. 60–65 ( online - September 7, 2019 ).
  28. ↑ Police record high accident statistics with scooters . In: Berliner Zeitung , July 12, 2020, p. 7.
  29. ↑ golem.de
  30. ↑ web.de
  31. ↑ sgt-taschen.de
  32. ↑ a b c Katja Iken: Ancestor of the e-scooter flopped 100 years ago. In: Spiegel Online. September 6, 2019, accessed September 7, 2019 .