Mandatory helmet use for e-scooter and electric bicycle users has been approved in principle by Portugal’s parliament this week, closing a loophole in the country’s legislation which had allowed operators of said vehicles to put their lives at risk by foregoing a helmet. The legislation is now moving to the committee stage after the PSD bill was passed by a majority on Wednesday, 30th September.
The bill, introduced by the governing centre-right PSD back in May, proposes making helmets compulsory for “riders and passengers of motorised bicycles”, including electric bicycles, as well as for users of electric scooters and other self-balancing or self-propelled electric mobility devices.
The requirement would also apply to riders of other similar motorised vehicles, including rarely seen electric unicycles and self-balancing electric platforms, where these are legally classified as cycles.
In addition to mandatory helmet use, the approved proposal would require users of these vehicles to wear reflective clothing or equipment “from dusk to dawn and whenever visibility is insufficient due to weather or environmental conditions”.
The minimum requirements for such clothing or equipment would be set out in regulations issued by the government minister responsible for motoring, based on a proposal from Portugal’s Institute for Mobility and Transport (IMT).
The bill will now proceed to detailed scrutiny by the parliamentary Committee on Infrastructure, Mobility and Housing before it is allowed to pass into law.
Under the proposal, failure to wear a helmet would carry fines of between €60 and €300 for e-scooter riders and users of equivalent devices, and between €30 and €150 for electric bicycle riders.
A separate fine of between €30 and €150 would apply in both cases for failing to wear the required reflective clothing or equipment.
In its explanatory memorandum, the PSD stressed that the proposed reflective clothing requirement would not necessarily mean wearing a high-visibility safety vest.
Instead, the aim would be to ensure that users have visible and appropriate equipment when travelling in low-visibility conditions. This could include reflective elements incorporated into clothing, technical gear containing reflective material, or reflective strips and accessories attached to one’s clothing, helmets or other equipment worn by the rider.
The bill was backed across the political spectrum by the PSD, Chega, PS, IL, CDS-PP, PCP, BE and JPP. PAN abstained, while Livre voted against it. Livre co-spokesperson Isabel Mendes Lopes and PAN’s sole MP, Inês de Sousa Real, both submitted statements explaining their votes.
MPs also approved a non-binding Socialist Party (PS) resolution calling on the government to step up enforcement against e-scooters, electric bicycles. and similar devices being ridden on pavements.
The resolution also calls for speed limiters for such vehicles to be regulated and for the government to examine a pilot scheme involving disposable helmets.
It was supported by the PSD, PS, Livre, BE, PAN and JPP, while Chega, CDS and PCP abstained and IL voted against.
Meanwhile, a PAN resolution calling for subsidies towards the purchase of helmets, their distribution to children and young people, and measures to improve access to and raise awareness of helmet use was rejected.
The proposal was opposed by the PSD, Chega, IL and CDS-PP, while PCP abstained and PS, Livre, BE and JPP voted in favour.
Source: JN
Photo credit: Vizinhos de Arroios (Vizinhos em Lisboa) / Facebook
