A little over a month ago, the mayor of Castellón, Begoña Carrasco, presented a new device to control the maximum speed that personal mobility vehicles (VMP) that circulate through the city can reach. And, although legally electric scooters cannot exceed 25 km/h, some examples are souped-up and exceed the permitted limits. According to the council, this device is pioneering and numerous local police forces throughout the country have already shown interest in it. Such is the case of Valencia, Zaragoza or Madrid, as well as other municipalities in the Castellón province.
This device, which has all the necessary approvals to carry out this type of controls on public roads, consists of rollers where the front wheel of the scooter is supported so that it rotates without moving when the user accelerates until reaching the maximum point that allows the fist. Thus, agents can know what peak the VPM reaches without having to go to the technical inspection stations.
This, in the words of the Councilor for Security and Emergencies, Antonio Ortolá, “represents a significant improvement for both users and the police themselves by substantially reducing the time to perform the test.”
With this surveillance, we want to improve road safety, since “with the increase in the use of scooters, accidents or daily scares due to negligent use of them have also unfortunately increased,” stated Carrasco.
As stated in the DGT regulations, personal mobility vehicles are considered to be those vehicles with one or more wheels equipped with a single seat and powered exclusively by electric motors that can provide a maximum speed between 6 and 25 km/h.
Thus, any model that exceeds this limit may be considered a moped and, therefore, must comply with the corresponding regulations (you need to be registered, have a driving license, take out insurance…). We have already seen on previous occasions how some electric scooters far exceeded this figure; One user was even caught driving at 100 km/h on a highway.
VMPs cannot circulate on sidewalks and pedestrian areas, and are also prohibited from circulating on interurban roads, crossroads, highways, highways or urban tunnels; They should always travel on the bike path or road. Like other drivers, its users cannot drive the vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol nor can they use headphones, cell phones or any other device. Violating the regulations entails a fine but in no case the deduction of points, since, at least for the moment, it is not necessary to take an exam or have a license to be able to handle them.
Since last January 22, all VMPs sold in Spain must have the corresponding certification for their use. Previously sold copies may circulate until January 22, 2027 even if they do not have said certificate.
