Bill would let police seize illegal scooters without court orders

Estonia’s Climate Ministry is drafting legislation that would allow police to confiscate non-compliant electric scooters without a court order, ERR reports. Lawyers say the proposal would excessively infringe on property rights.

Scooters that exceed 1 kW of power or can travel faster than 25 km/h are not allowed in traffic, but some shops continue to sell them. Ampride, an electric scooter retailer, sells several hundred scooters a year and says customers remain interested in more powerful models despite being warned about the restrictions.

Police can currently take such scooters into custody, but courts have not approved any police attempts to confiscate vehicles that were detained. Climate Ministry deputy secretary general Sander Salmu said the scooters often return to the road the next day after being handed back to their owners.

Police data show that 276 accidents involving personal light electric vehicles caused injuries this year, with one rider killed. Riders were responsible for 93% of the accidents, and 33% of those riders were minors.

Police traffic supervision chief Sirle Loigo said vehicles that are not permitted in traffic because of their technical characteristics should be removed in a way that prevents them from returning. She noted that police can already confiscate and destroy radar devices used to detect speed measurements in vehicles.

Lawyer Marcus Niin of Sorainen said decisions about people’s property should remain with the courts. If parliament passes the bill, the new rules would take effect in March next year.