The Knesset’s Economic Affairs Committee on Monday approved expanded enforcement measures for two-wheeled electric vehicles, particularly scooters and motorized bicycles.
The move will allow city inspectors to penalize drivers for additional violations, in an effort to promote road safety.
These offenses include failure to wear a helmet, use of scooters and e-bikes by teenagers under 16, driving without proper training (which is required for drivers who do not have a driver’s license regular), two people riding a scooter at the same time, and the use of cell phones and headphones while riding.
Municipal inspectors will also have the power to enforce traffic signs by users of motorized scooters and bicycles.
The idea of giving local inspectors more authority on this issue was floated by Transport Minister Merav Michaeli and Public Security Minister Omer Barlev.
Labor party leader Merav Michaeli attends a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem on June 13, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
“The expansion of the bill that we approved today is an important step intended to ensure the safety of all people using the road and to significantly reduce traffic accidents,” said Michaeli.
Barlev added: “Crashes involving two-wheeled electric vehicles have become a scourge that claims lives… We are committed to fighting those who allow themselves to break the law and endanger their environment without realizing it. . [these vehicles] can be fatal if used incorrectly.
Illustrative: The scene where Israeli model Shlomit Malka was seriously injured after falling from an electric scooter in Tel Aviv, August 13, 2017. (Flash90)
According to a report by the Gerner Institute of Sheba Tel-HaShomer Medical Center cited by the Ynet news site, 1,364 people were hospitalized in 2021 for injuries caused by scooters or electric bicycles.
