FILE PHOTO: People ride an electric scooter near the Colosseum in Rome, Italy, September 18, 2020. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo
ROME (Reuters) - Italy's parliament on Wednesday approved a bill that will require e-scooter riders to wear helmets and be insured, while also introducing tougher fines for rogue parking as part of a wider overhaul of the highway code.
Like in other European countries, e-scooter usage has surged in Italy in recent years. But the boom has also brought a rise in accidents and complaints from drivers and pedestrians about riders flouting safety and parking rules.
"No more wild scooters," Transport Minister Matteo Salvini said in a social media post, adding that e-scooter users will also be required to get license plates and be banned from cycle lanes, pedestrianised areas and non-urban roads.
National statistics institute ISTAT said in July that road accidents with injuries involving e-scooters rose to 3,365 in 2023, with 21 deaths, up from 2,929 injuries and 16 deaths in 2022.
Other countries in Europe have also restricted e-scooter use. Last year, the French capital Paris banned rented two-wheeled electric vehicles following a referendum, while Madrid withdrew their licences in September.
Italy's Senate gave final approval to the new highway code in a 83-47 vote.
The reform includes stiffer penalties for drink-driving or the use of drugs, and a jail term of up to 7 years for those who abandon animals on the road, leading to accidents.
Salvini, who is also deputy prime minister and leader of the hard-right League party, said the new rules were drawn up after wide consultations "with a common goal: reduce the carnage on Italian roads."
Advocates of e-scooters, which in cities like Rome and Milan are popular with locals and tourists, say they provide a zero-pollution and cheap alternative to public transport or other mobility options.
Giorgio Cappiello, the head of institutional relations in Italy for rental company Bird, said the reform was "completely ideological" and firms had reported no casualties on their vehicles in 2022 and 2023.
(Reporting by Angelo Amante, editing by Alvise Armellini and Bernadette Baum)
