Senator Artem Sheikin has proposed a legislative ban on operating electric scooters and other personal mobility devices (PMDs) while intoxicated. According to him, PMD users should be subject to the same basic safety requirements as car drivers.
The most fundamental rule that needs to be enshrined in law is the extension to PMD users and cyclists of the key responsibilities that car drivers have borne for decades. Operating any vehicle capable of reaching significant speeds while intoxicated is criminal recklessness. Legally enshrining this ban for PMDs should have happened a long time ago. A drunk car driver is a threat. A drunk "rider" on a scooter speeding along the sidewalk is no less a serious threat to those around them and to themselves.
The senator paid particular attention to the issue of liability in road traffic accidents involving PMDs. According to him, under the current legal conditions, a scooter user who causes an accident with an injured pedestrian can flee the scene, and there are insufficient tools to bring them to justice. The obligation to remain at the scene of an accident and act in accordance with traffic regulations, Sheikin believes, will equalize all participants in the incident in terms of rights and obligations.
In addition, the senator proposed obliging PMD users to undergo medical examination. In his opinion, such a measure would eliminate the possibility of impunity for refusing to be tested if there are grounds to suspect intoxication.
