An e-scooter driver was seriously injured in an accident in Bonn. The 26-year-old had taken the right of way to a taxi on the night of Sunday, the police reported. The man, who was not wearing a hard hat, fell and hit the ground with full force. After emergency medical care at the scene of the accident, an ambulance took him to a hospital.
As the police wrote in their press release, the e-scooter driver smelled heavily of alcohol - he was obviously drunk; it was arranged a blood sample and ensured the e-scooter.
The scooter ride under alcohol is a problem that the police have recently increasingly registered. Only last week, she had reported that well over half of the drunk driving people stopped after visiting the Oktoberfest were on an e-scooter. In this context, the car driver's license was accepted for 254 scooter drivers. Also in the 21 accidents in connection with e-scooters at the Oktoberfest 13 drivers were drunk. In total, 15 people were injured.
Many drivers are not aware of how dangerous driving a scooter is under the influence of alcohol, says Gerhard Hillebrand, specialist lawyer for traffic and criminal law in an interview with SPIEGEL. And at least it was apparently known that apply the same rules on the scooter as with the car: "So drivers have to expect the same consequences as when driving under the influence of alcohol."
At a value of more than 1.1 parts per thousand, a scooter driver is absolutely unfit for driving and commits a crime. "As a first-time offender, this usually means a fine of 30 daily rates and the withdrawal of the driving license plus a blocking period of ten to twelve months."
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Electric scooters have been allowed in Germany since mid-June. Users are allowed to drive a maximum of 20 kilometers per hour and use cycle lanes - if these are not available, the road. Driving on footpaths and in pedestrian areas is prohibited. The discontent about the e-scooter is currently growing. The criticism ignites above all on wildly parked scooters and reckless drivers.
The head of the Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung (KBV), Andreas Gassen, has even spoken out in favor of a ban on e-scooters. "That's the only way to help prevent injuries - from a medical point of view, they're just too dangerous, so go away."
