Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There has already been correspondence with the petitioner to which he has replied.

The secretariat received the petitioner’s response to the correspondence from the Department of Transport via JCPP-r-1307/2023, appendix B, on 20 October 2023. The petitioner believes that the Department of Transport's considerations do not consider the inherent dangers of riding an electric scooter or the heightened need for certain types of PPE, personal protective equipment, and that the age of 16 as a minimum is too young in general.

The petitioner made the following points. Unlike e-bikes, pedelecs, or pedal electric cycles, and other large diameter wheeled powered personal transportation, PPT, the electric scooter has smaller diameter wheels that make the machine more prone to flipping. The power output of the motors when pulling the brakes is so high that the petitioner's motors can bring him to a stop without issue before needing to use the friction brakes. It is safer to keep up with traffic than to remain in the cycle lanes as there is simply insufficient infrastructure in Dublin. The petitioner believes that high-speed electric scooters should have a place on our roads as they are safer at this time.

I do not believe electric scooters are safe. I agree with Deputy O'Donoghue on that because I see them in Dublin. When I am driving and I get a clear run, I find a scooter beside me and it will be keeping up. That is crazy and dangerous.