Electric moped or bicycle? The rental company interprets the provisions of the law in its own favor / Article

Ambiguous wording is used in the law

The number of vehicles offered by ride-sharing operators in Riga has already exceeded 10,000. This is more than the population of, for example, Dobele. The number of drivers is much larger, and among them, unfortunately, there are also those whose driving culture, to put it mildly, gets stuck, and then conflicts with other road users or even dangerous situations arise.

“Since when is it normal to run over pedestrians with these electric scooters on the sidewalk in Riga?” journalist Nellie Lochmele leaks on the “X” communication site, for whom this is already the third such case in a few days. Judging by the comments, many pedestrians have had similar situations.

The video center of the Riga municipality police also regularly records various violations, but until now the police had limited powers to punish these drivers.

It turns out that driving on the sidewalk is not prohibited for such vehicles. The lessor “Ride” has noticed the use of unclear wording in the law.

Here is such a rental vehicle – it looks like an electric moped, weighs like an electric moped and rides on it, sitting like an electric moped. But as the merchant explains, according to the law it is an electric bicycle.

The products of the particular company are equipped with pedals and, purely theoretically, they can also be powered by muscle power. Speed ​​with electric drive is limited to 25 kilometers per hour, and the power of the electric motor is below one kilowatt. Therefore, in the opinion of the company manager, they meet the definition of a bicycle in the Road Traffic Law.

“In essence, it is! They are electric bicycles, although it is difficult for many to understand,” says Edgars Jākobsons, chairman of the board of SIA “Ride”.

“It is called an electric moped by incompetent people and some competitors. There is no violation here. Everything is in accordance with the law, as we read it and as we understand it.”

At the same time, Jákobsons admits that pedestrians have priority when driving on the sidewalk. If a driver of a rental vehicle drives aggressively, dangerously or violates other rules, the entrepreneur invites to report it and promises that such users will be blocked.

CSDD and the police – it’s an electric moped

Being a bicycle offers a number of advantages. It allows you to ride on sidewalks, pedestrian streets, park paths and other places where mopeds should not be allowed. In addition, an electric bicycle, unlike a moped, does not necessarily need to be registered. However, the interpretation of the “Ride” law is questioned not only by competitors, but also by the Road Safety Directorate (CSDD) and the experts of the Riga Municipality Police. They emphasize that electric bicycles are those for which the motor only helps to turn the pedals.

“When we see these red vehicles on the streets, we often notice that the pedals are not turned, the electric motor fulfills its primary function. In that case, this means of transport would already be called a moped according to the legal definition,” admits Aivis Ozoliņš, head of the CSDD Registration Department.

Andrejs Aronov, the Deputy Police Chief of the Riga municipality, also emphasizes: “If you can run and drive with it, or if the autonomous motor works, which works without muscle power, then it is no longer a bicycle.

You can hang 10 pedals on it, it won’t make it a bicycle.”

Meanwhile, Raivis Ozoliņš, the head of the “Tuul” company in Latvia, points out that they are much heavier than electric scooters and can cause much more harm in the event of an accident.

However, the chairman of the Traffic and Transport Affairs Committee of the Riga City Council, Olafs Pulks (“Jaunā Vienotība”), understands the law in the same way as the representatives of “Ride”: “My lawyers say that it is an electric bicycle. It is a legal dispute! I have no reason not to believe them.”

What an interesting nuance. The owner of “Ride” is a member of Olaf Pulka’s party from “Vienotības”,

ran in elections several times from the list of this party, and over the years donated to it a total of more than 9,500 euros. However, they both deny that the business is politically lobbied.

“I am very active in the party. I support this political force. It has not helped me in any way. I would even say that it has hindered me to some extent,” says Jákobson.

Be that as it may, from tomorrow, May 1, a new regulation will be in force in Riga, which will limit the places in the city where shared vehicles can be left, as well as reduce the speed in the historical center to 20 kilometers per hour. But the main thing is that it will allow the municipal police to more strictly control compliance with these rules. In addition, the police will also be able to request technical information from the merchant in order to finally find out whether it is a moped or a bicycle.