If you are going to move around Barcelona on an electric scooter, from May this year it will be mandatory to wear a helmet. The measure was included in the modification of the traffic ordinance that was adapted to the new DGT regulations.
This regulation also prohibits the circulation of more than one person in personal mobility vehicles, PMVs.
In this way, helmets will no longer be a fashion or taste element, but will be mandatory along with other safety accessories. They must have lights at the front and rear, as well as an acoustic warning device or a buzzer.
Although the general statewide standard has had to go through a long bureaucratic process, it is expected to come into force in May 2023 in the city.
It will be mandatory to wear a helmet when riding a scooter.
Failure to comply with the rule provides for penalties of up to 200 euros for not wearing a helmet. If the use of scooters is allowed, safety measures must also be applied, said Laia Bonet, councilwoman for Mobility.
Another aspect contemplated by the regulation is the regulation of scooter parking on public roads, which is currently not very common. This is because most users carry the scooter with them at all times.
However, the issue is contemplated for inclusion in the future regulation of shared rental scooters that the municipal government has been seeking to implement for several years.
In this regard, scooters may only be parked in spaces specifically designated for this purpose and must always remain attached to the corresponding anchoring elements.
Other aspects to take into account
The modification and adjustment of the measure served to modify the traffic ordinance and to write down aspects that, although already in force, are not fully complied with.
For example, the prohibition for bicycles such as scooters to ride on sidewalks.
In this regard, some common sense changes will be introduced in order to respect the obligation to move from the sidewalks to the pedestrian streets when there are crowds of pedestrians on the sidewalks.
Such is the case of Portal de l’Àngel, which during the sales season is very busy, especially on Saturday afternoons.
The aforementioned amendments will replace the ordinance passed in 2017 which tried to regulate tourist Segways (two-wheeled electric gyroscopic light transport vehicle with two side wheels), but in the end ended up being a perfect legal framework to regulate scooters before they existed.
As a result, it is now easier to treat all VMPs equally, without comparing them to bicycles.
It is now mandatory to wear a helmet.
