site.btaTransport and Communications Parliamentary Committee Rejects Proposal to Ban Electric Scooters on Roads

The Parliamentary Committee on Transport and Communications rejected the proposal to introduce a total ban on electric scooters on the roads. The proposal in the Road Traffic Act was made by the chairman of the committee, Kiril Dobrev (BSP-United Left), and rejected after a debate with five votes in favor, five against, and eight abstentions. The meeting was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov.

It was proposed that the law should stipulate that self-balancing vehicles, tracked vehicles, the use of studded tires, and electric scooters are prohibited on roads open to public use.  

Dobrev said he made this proposal with a clear understanding of its reception in the Committee. Over the past two years, he said, he has been subjected to tremendous harassment from scooter importers and non-governmental organizations, including state ones, which are visibly lobbying for scooters. Dobrev noted that scooters are 200 times more dangerous than cars, 70 times more dangerous than motorcycles, and 50 times more dangerous than bicycles.