– It will be very difficult to find out who is the owner of the electric scooter in the event of an accident because the insurance companies have different registration systems that they register in. That’s what Sigmund Clementz, head of information at IF insurance, says. He would like to see the authorities introduce a registration obligation for electric scooters, and believes it will bring benefits to society. Sigmund Clementz, head of information at IF insurance. Photo: If Privately owned electric scooters and stand-up boards must have liability insurance from 1 January. They are also exempt from registration in the motor vehicle register. As a result, the police cannot check whether the liability insurance is in order. Nor can the police search for the electric scooter if the owner runs away from an accident. The police do not have immediate access to these registers. – The challenge with the frame number is that it is not a registration number with the authorities. This is a number that can identify the electric scooter for the individual insurance company, explains Clementz. Probably not a priority for the police The police also see the challenge of finding out who owns private electric scooters and standing boards. Alexander Naley, police officer in the traffic and marine section at Stavanger police station Photo: Ole Andreas Bø / news – It’s no secret that it becomes difficult with vehicles that are not registered to people, and to see that the owner has actually insured them. Perhaps you can eventually apply for the frame number and find out in a system whether they have insurance. That’s what Alexander Naley, who is a police officer in the traffic and maritime section at Stavanger police station, says. He understands that people do not want to spend on insurance. – I understand that it is expensive in these times, but think of the expense you can incur if something goes wrong with the electric scooters without insurance. Then we talk expenses. Department director in the police directorate Runar Karlsen writes in an e-mail to news: – The police will probably not prioritize checking electric scooters in order to uncover a widespread lack of liability insurance. The police will continue to have a control focus on driving behavior in general, and illegal drunk driving in particular. Read more about the insurance here: This is how liability insurance works on electric scooters It covers damage to other people’s belongings and property, as well as personal injury. Children under the age of 12 can use the electric scooters, but the parents must pay for the insurance. Children under 15 must wear a helmet. If not, the insurance does not apply. If children are to use the electric scooter, this must be reported to the insurance company. This leads to a risk surcharge in the price. The insurance follows the vehicle, i.e. the electric scooter. The serial number of the electric scooter works in the same way as the registration number of a car. If you have several electric scooters, you must have several insurance policies. There are no restrictions on how many people can use an electric scooter, but as I said, it must be clarified if anyone under the age of 18 uses it. Liability insurance applies to electric scooters with a maximum speed between 10 and 20 km/h. Those who go below 10 km/h may be covered by contents insurance. Those who go over 20 km/h are illegal and cannot be insured. The price varies by brand and type. And insurance company. At SR-Bank, the price is between NOK 600 and 1,200 a year. Then you also get fire and theft included. Gjensidige states on its website that the insurance costs NOK 59 a month, while with If it costs NOK 65 a month. Different companies have different prices, and may have other differences. Source: Sparebank 1 SR-Bank and news Asking questions about the practicalities In recent months, lawyer Brynjar Meling has been critical of some of the regulations surrounding the use of electric scooters. Especially after alcohol limits were introduced, and you risked large fines and losing your driving licence. – We can hope that the authorities have done a better legislative preparation than when they introduced blood alcohol limits on 15 June 2022, he says. Meling is basically positive about insurance requirements. – That is probably a correct assessment. Today, you also have responsibility if you cause damage through negligence, but it is clear that personal responsibility increases if you are also responsible for taking out liability insurance. Meling believes there are interesting questions related to children’s legal capacity and responsibility. – Users can be down for 12 years. And how to enforce it if they are not registered? I expect they will have to find a solution for that, but it is clear that there are many elements that raise practical questions, he says. Lawyer Brynjar Meling hopes the authorities have done better legislative preparation this time before a rule is introduced. Photo: Odin Omland / news Meling is nevertheless clear that regulation is needed. – It is quite natural when a vehicle comes along that becomes dominant in the cityscape, with such a large volume of both private and rental vehicles. You had to turn around quickly and find rules for drink driving and insurance. So you have tried and failed a bit along the way, he says.
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