Where can you drive an electric scooter?

Before you spend a lot of money on an e-scooter, you may be wondering where you are actually allowed to drive with an electric scooter. Otherwise you will soon be put aside with your expensive purchase, or you will be thrown on the receipt. We have the answer for you, so read on!

With these tips and information you will soon be able to buy an electric scooter that really suits your needs.

You are not allowed to drive (almost) anywhere with the most electric scooters

To get straight to the point: often you are not allowed to drive anywhere with an electric scooter.

In the Netherlands, e-steps fall under the legislation of special mopeds. This means that an electric scooter must be approved for use on public roads.

In most cases this has not happened, because it is too time consuming for the producers. In other words: with the You are not allowed to drive most electric scooters on public roads.

This means that you can only legally drive an e-step on your own property. And laps in your own backyard, that is of course not what you buy such a scooter for.

That’s why we’re going to look at a number of electric scooters that you can ride on. But first, what do you risk when you hit the road with an unapproved scooter?

Fine, lost step, not insured

There is in practice little maintained. And so you see a lot of electric scooters driving around, even if they are not officially allowed to be used.

You risk one fine of €380,- and that your scooter will be confiscated. If you are arrested, it can be an expensive joke.

In addition, you cannot insure your e-scooter (WA), which is mandatory for motorized vehicles. Not only is driving around uninsured punishableYou also pay for any damage you cause.

In other countries you can ride an electric scooter

What makes it even more confusing is that you are allowed to ride electric scooters in the countries around us.

A while back, there were even many warnings that you should not take e-scooters home from your holiday destination. The e-step is already a permanent part of the street scene in many European cities. Tourists in particular make extensive use of electric shared scooters such as Lime.

So many people on vacation got acquainted with the convenience of the electric scooter and decided to buy one for their home. Not knowing that those steps are not allowed to be used here at all.

And of course it remains strange: our cities are also filled with electric bicycles and scooters – also for tourists – but we still do not have good legislation for e-steps.

Electric scooters that you can legally ride on

There are several electric scooters that you can use on public roads. The difference is that you have to step on these steps yourself, otherwise the electric support will be lost.

As a result, they fall under the same legislation as an electric bicycle, which is limited to 25 kilometers per hour. And so you can riding in the same places as an electric bicycle.

And where do you drive that approved e-step?

Well, you have found an electric scooter that you can use on public roads. Where should you drive now? What rules do you have to follow to prevent yourself from being thrown on the receipt?

As we mentioned above, an e-scooter that only supports when you are pedaling yourself, legally regarded as an electric bicycle. This means that you follow the same legislation as a cyclist.

So you are riding on the bike path. If there is no bike path, you ride on the road. You are not allowed to drive on the sidewalk with an electric scooter. After all, you also go a lot faster than the average walker.

That is different from a non-electric scooter. This means that you fall under the legislation for pedestrians and you are therefore allowed to drive on the sidewalk.

Frequently asked questions about where you can drive an e-step

In this case we assume an electric scooter that is allowed on the road.