mandatory registration, increased fines and new traffic rules

The Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation announced additional measures to regulate the movement of electric scooters and means of individual mobility (SIM) in addition to the amendments to the traffic rules that had already entered into force in March. This, in particular, is about limiting the speed of overtaking pedestrians and tightening penalties for violators. The Central Bank does not exclude the introduction in the future of an analogue of OSAGO for users of a new mode of transport.

The situation with SIM was discussed on Thursday at a round table in the Public Chamber. On March 1, we recall, the amendments to the SDA regulating the rights and obligations of users of the new mode of transport came into force. For example, they are prohibited from driving at speeds above 25 km/h, driving on highways, etc. Meanwhile, according to statistics (the HRC requested data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs), in the first quarter of 2023, there were 495 accidents involving SIMs, an increase of 60% compared to the same period last year. In these incidents, 5 people died, another 516 were injured.

The amendments enshrine “basic” regulation, Vladimir Lugovenko, Deputy Director of the Department of State Policy in the Field of Automobile and Urban Passenger Transport of the Ministry of Transport, emphasized, speaking in the OP, “we are entering the next circle – we are developing new solutions taking into account law enforcement practice.” On behalf of the head of the Ministry of Transport, Mr. Lugovenko said, a roadmap is being prepared for further regulation of SIM and “integrating them into the transport system.” The document is being approved and is designed for several years.

From the statements of Mr. Lugovenko it follows that adjustments will be made to the traffic rules, the Code of Administrative Offenses and a number of federal laws.

It is planned, for example, to limit the overtaking of pedestrians – this maneuver will be allowed at speeds up to 10 km / h (the speed control mechanism will still be discussed). Vladimir Lugovenko mentioned plans to switch to a “registry model”, meaning that all SIMs will be registered and entered in a single electronic register. This, according to the official, will ensure “control over the movement and the inevitability of punishment.” However, license plates for scooters, according to Kommersant, are not planned to be introduced. The Code of Administrative Offenses will introduce new compositions with increased fines, including for speeding. The Ministry of Transport has not yet given details and sizes of sanctions. Today, we recall, for violators, Art. 12.29 and 12.30 of the Code (the maximum sanction is 1.5 thousand rubles). The traffic rules will also be amended to more clearly fix the difference between SIM and mopeds: now, due to the wording, there are disputes between the traffic police and users.

An analysis of the practice showed that there is no unequivocal ban in the SDA on riding electric scooters together that are not structurally intended for this, Viktor Stelmakh, the inspector at large of the department of regulatory legal regulation and external interaction of the traffic police of the Russian Federation, drew attention, an amendment needs to be made. Tandem riding, he says, is one of the most common SIM-related violations.

Sergey Babich, head of the law enforcement department of the insurance market department of the Central Bank, did not rule out the introduction in the future of an analogue of OSAGO for SIM.

Now this is not possible, since electric scooters do not have numbers, they do not need a driver’s license. At the same time, Mr. Babich noted, no one prevents insurers from offering SIM users voluntary general liability insurance – if this service becomes popular, we can return to the discussion of compulsory insurance.

The experts invited by the OP also named other problems. Petersburg Legislative Assembly deputy Aleksey Tsivilev noted that in the regions the traffic police do not have enough resources to control SIM: “You don’t give money to the regions, they are all beggars, how will they chase electric scooters?” In St. Petersburg, he continued, the traffic police refuses to file accidents that occurred with the participation of SIM on the sidewalk, regarding this as the area of ​​responsibility of the district police. The head of the Federation of Russian Car Owners, Maxim Yedryshov, called for a stricter limit on the permitted speed of the SIM, citing the experience of Kazakhstan, whose authorities have banned speeding faster than 6 km / h on the sidewalks since September, and Singapore, where driving on the SIM on the sidewalks is generally prohibited.

Yevgeny Litvin, co-chairman of the “Road Safety” working group within the framework of the “regulatory guillotine”, recalled that regional and municipal authorities are obliged to organize traffic for electric scooters in cities (signs and markings are already in the traffic rules), but in fact, few people do this, with the exception of Moscow and a number of large cities. “The main work should take place on the ground, all the tools for this are given,” Vladimir Lugovenko agreed with him. “Justification of restrictions, prohibitions, infrastructure issues – all this is the work that falls on local governments.”

Ivan Buranov