Electric scooters, now it's official, can circulate freely on the streets and alleys of Italian cities as if they were bicycles. We have seen them whizzing by for some time as an antidote to city traffic congestion but only since 30 December, when it was published in the Official Gazette, ordinary supplement no. 45/L to the Official Gazette 304 of 30 December 2019, are fully in compliance. With the rule that, in article 75, equates electric scooters to cycles, the ministerial decree of 4 June last year (published in the Official Gazette 162 of 12 July) formally entered into force, which allows the circulation of these new vehicles - including Segways – in urban areas and on normal roads, just like bicycles.
However, the decreed regularization concerns only scooters up to 500 Watts of power and speeds not exceeding 20 km/hequipped with front and rear lights. Requirements that it is good to be careful to verify at the time of any purchase.
The legalization of electric scooters, which now makes their diffusion easier, was promoted by the senator of Italia Viva, Eugenio Comincini. His amendment to the 2020 economic maneuver was in fact approved on Monday 9 December last and precisely provides for the equating of electric scooters to bicycles. However, hoverboards and monowheels are not included in the new standard which remain confined to private use and which do not receive the status of recognized roadworthy vehicles.
The new legislation thus sought to bring order to the matter which was turning into a veritable jungle with the diffusion of these means between toys and useful objects and to address the issue of safety - still not fully resolved - which had led to fines, even very heavy, patchy in Italian cities.
