The Local Police of La Seu d'Urgell has immobilized 13 electric scooters since December, when the traffic ordinance regulating these vehicles in the municipality came into effect. The interventions began in January, after a first month in which officers limited their actions to reminders and an awareness campaign.
The most striking data appears in the speed of some removed devices. The rule sets a maximum of 25 km/h, but subsequent checks at a Vehicle Technical Inspection station detected scooters that reached around 60 km/h, more than double the legal limit.
Eight scooters remain in the municipal impound since January
The municipal impound currently holds eight seized scooters. Another four have already been recovered by their owners after providing the required documentation and paying the fine, while a fifth case is still in the recovery process.
All those fined reside in La Seu d'Urgell. The most common infractions are not having the vehicle registered with the General Directorate of Traffic and driving without mandatory insurance, two offenses that the ordinance considers serious and which can incur fines of up to 500 euros.
In addition to checking documentation, the Local Police send the immobilized vehicles to a Vehicle Technical Inspection station to verify if they have been tampered with. In these checks, some scooters reached nearly 60 km/h even though the permitted limit is 25 km/h.
The plenary session clarified that VMPs cannot circulate in squares or pedestrian areas
The city council has reinforced the regulation with a modification to the traffic ordinance unanimously approved in the municipal plenary session. The change aims to explicitly prohibit personal mobility vehicles from circulating in squares and pedestrian areas.
Manel Martínez, head of the Local Police, framed the application of the ordinance within an objective of road safety and coexistence.
"They are vehicles, not toys" - Manel Martínez, head of the Local Police, La Seu d'Urgell City Council
In the same vein, Martínez maintained that the municipal action pursues "a safer city, with less uncivil use of these scooters and fewer accidents."
During December, before initiating fines and immobilizations, the Local Police focused their actions on informational notices and an awareness campaign aimed at users of these vehicles.