The first round goes to “Bit Mobility”, the company that rents electric scooters in Novara. The TAR suspended the obligation to wear a helmet, the central point of the appeal against the ordinance of the Municipality, while it kept in force the limits imposed on speed and passage in the Ztl. The provision of the administrative court is immediately enforceable, therefore already in force since Monday, to protect the company that offers the service and which could suffer economic damage while waiting for the hearing, set for 18 May.
The provision of the Municipality had been signed in the days when the two hundred scooters of the Venetian start-up “Bit Mobility” appeared in the city, which had won the municipal tender for free floating on public land: the vehicles are located in various points of the city and they can be used with free access, through an App already downloaded by about four thousand Novara people.
The main points of the municipal provision that came into force on December 1st included the obligation to wear a helmet even for adults, unlike the Highway Code which limits it to minors, the reduction of speed to 6 kilometers per hour in the Ztl and the prohibition passing through the pedestrian area, except with the vehicle carried by hand, on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 2pm to 8pm.
The first provision was deemed not within the competence of the Municipality, which therefore cannot impose the use of head protectors, unlike the other rules of the ordinance: here the TAR considered that the administration is entitled to decide the modalities of “use” of its own roads. A similar measure was also taken by the TAR of Florence, which however did not grant the suspension of the order as did that of Turin in this case.
«We are especially interested in establishing the principle that the Municipalities do not have jurisdiction over the rules of the Highway Code – comments Michele Francione, of the Bit Mobility company – and we hope that the TAR will confirm this in May in the trial. Safety is important and a culture of using the electric scooter must be created. We have already started to do this with regard to parking: we send about ten fines a day, they amount to 3 euros and are imposed via e-mail to anyone who leaves the vehicle in an incorrect position. The figure is small but also in this case we want to establish a principle “.
The Municipality takes note of the suspension decided by the TAR and awaits the hearing: “We did what we had to do to protect public health after the news of accidents, including fatalities, which took place elsewhere – comments the mayor Alessandro Canelli -. I hope that the State will intervene soon, as it should already have done, for more stringent legislation with compulsory helmet for all, and that in the meantime nothing serious will happen. I also hope that the protection will still be worn by those who ride a scooter regardless of the ordinance ». –