Individuals or companies that own scooters and e-bikes with a maximum design speed of more than 25 kilometers per hour will have to provide them with an RCA, according to a draft law approved at a cabinet meeting on Friday.

This was stated by the government spokesman Mihai Konstantin.

The regulatory act transposes into national law the EU directive, which makes changes to RCA legislation, among which the changes relate to the technical redefinition of the term “vehicle”. In this regard, RCA will need to provide insurance for vehicles that are not subject to registration/registration according to national legislation – electric scooters, electric bicycles and other vehicles.

• “However, there are also very valid exceptions in this bill, namely that there will no longer be an obligation to carry RCA insurance for vehicles that are temporarily or permanently withdrawn from circulation and whose use is prohibited.
• Wheelchairs or similar self-propelled vehicles intended for use exclusively by persons with musculoskeletal disabilities will also be exempt from such coverage.
• Another exception to the insurance obligation is the use of vehicles in sporting events and activities, including races and competitions, but this exception only applies if the organizer or any other party involved in the event has insurance or provides an alternative warranty that covers any damages. which would be covered by classic RCA,” Mihai Konstantin clarified.

Which electric scooters will require an RCA

Not all e-scooters or e-bikes will require an RCA, only those with a maximum design speed of more than 25 km/h or those with a curb weight of more than 25 kg and a maximum design speed of more than 14 km. / hour

This is due to the fact that in the bill the term “vehicle” will be worded as follows:

• a) any self-propelled ground vehicle with a maximum design speed of more than 25 km/h; or
• b) any self-propelled land vehicle with an own weight of more than 25 kg and a maximum design speed of more than 14 km/h;
• (c) any trailer intended for use with a vehicle referred to in (a) or (b), whether coupled or not;
• d) tram”

Reasons for implementing RCA in electric scooters: Number of accidents

One of the most important reasons justifying the regulatory act is the issue of compensation coverage for victims of road traffic accidents, persons injured as a result of road traffic accidents, when the vehicles that led to these accidents are not subject to registration/registration, but are used in traffic or on private territories that are open to public traffic, the explanatory note says:

• “As a result of technological development, many new types of motorized vehicles appeared on the Romanian market, vehicles that, due to their characteristics, are not subject to mandatory registration/registration, but are the cause of road accidents with material damage and bodily injuries.
• Some of them are driven solely by an electric motor, others by auxiliary equipment, and such vehicles should be taken into account when defining the concept of “vehicle” for which RCA insurance is required in the European Union and Romania.
• This definition shall be based on the general characteristics of such vehicles, in particular the maximum design speed and unladen weight, and shall include only those vehicles propelled by engines that generate mechanical power.
• The definition should apply regardless of the number of wheels on the vehicle and whether the vehicles are subject to registration/registration or not.
• The absence of such regulation results in the exclusion of these vehicles from the obligation to insure, in this case damages caused to the victim/injured persons as a result of traffic accidents that occurred while driving on roads open to public traffic or on private, unfenced roads the roads are not covered. access to which persons are not prohibited.”

Electric scooter drivers in Romania have caused more than 2,600 accidents in the last 5 years and the first 6 months of this year, most of them in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iași, Constanța and Galaţi, resulting in 20 deaths and 373 injuries. According to the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police, 2,363 were seriously and lightly injured.