In Lviv, stricter rules on the use of electric scooters are being prepared in response to a rise in injuries, particularly among children. The issue was considered at a meeting of the executive committee of Lviv City Council.
According to medical staff, in just the past three months more than 100 children with severe injuries sustained while riding electric scooters have been admitted to the city and regional children’s hospitals in Lviv. Last year, three children who suffered severe injuries after falling from electric scooters became posthumous donors following the confirmation of brain death.
The director of St Nicholas Children’s Hospital of the First Medical Association of Lviv, Ivan Miskiv, noted that doctors are increasingly confronted with the serious consequences of such injuries. He said this involves not only complex open fractures that take months to treat, but also traumatic brain injuries that can lead to severe lifelong neurological disorders. He stressed that children often use electric scooters as a form of entertainment, ride without helmets, carry several people at once and perform dangerous manoeuvres.
The director of the Department of Urban Mobility and Street Infrastructure, Oleh Zabarylo, recalled that the city has a memorandum of cooperation with e-scooter rental operators. As part of this cooperation, the speed of rental electric scooters has already been technically limited to 20 km/h in the city and to 15 km/h in high-risk areas, parking in the pedestrian zone in the city centre has been banned, special parking areas have been designated, 79 official locations for unloading and parking have been set up, identification numbers have been applied to all rental scooters, and they have been fitted with reflectors and lights.
At the same time, according to Oleh Zabarylo, the biggest problems remain the rising number of injuries among users, especially children, and chaotic parking. Therefore, a working group has drawn up new proposals to improve the safety of electric scooter use.
Among the proposed changes due to be introduced in Lviv from 1 July are:
- rental operators must ensure age verification of users, and access to rentals will be granted only to persons aged 16 and over;
- on accident-prone sections, speed will be limited to 15 km/h;
- the use of a protective helmet will become mandatory;
- rental electric scooters may only be left in specially designated parking areas.
To implement some of these changes, the city plans to amend the Rules for the Improvement of the Lviv Municipal Territorial Community. Jointly with LKP “Municipal Guard” and the patrol police, preventive patrols are also planned to strengthen enforcement.
The Mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi, has instructed that an appeal be prepared to the government to regulate the rules for the use of electric scooters at national level. In parallel, the city is preparing its own decisions, which may be adopted by the executive committee and the city council. He believes that the key causes of injuries are excessive speed and the absence of helmets, so both technical restrictions and a broad information campaign for parents and children are needed.
The Mayor also urged residents to report breaches of the rules for using electric scooters to the police and to the City Hotline.