The Association for the Promotion of German Fire Protection (vfdb) has criticized the rapid approval of electric scooters on public roads. “Experiences so far with the so-called e-scooters have shown that the legislature urgently needs to make improvements,” said vfdb President Dirk Aschenbrenner.
At the same time, Aschenbrenner called for fire departments and rescue services to be involved in assessing the risk potential well in advance of the introduction of new technologies.
few existing regulations
There are also apparently numerous accidents in which alcohol was involved
“In the past few weeks there have been repeated serious accidents involving vehicles,” said the vfdb president, who is also head of the Dortmund fire department. “In several cases, the scooter riders suffered serious head injuries. What is striking is that, as emergency doctors have reported so far, the victims never wore protective helmets.” There are also apparently numerous accidents in which alcohol was involved.
“Experience shows again and again that appeals and warnings are not enough,” Aschenbrenner continued. It is therefore urgently necessary to sit down with the experts to discuss additions to the few existing regulations.
Combustion of the batteries
“It is to be feared that as the number of users continues to rise, accidents will also increase,” fears the vfdb president.
However, the possible fire risk that the scooter's lithium-ion batteries could pose should not be underestimated. There are still many unresolved challenges here. Just a few weeks ago, a hall in which 100 e-scooters were stored burned out on the Lower Rhine. The police did not rule out spontaneous combustion of the batteries there.