Speed limit of e-scooters reduced in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

Following consecutive e-scooter accidents, which have become a hot topic of safety debate in the country due to increasing deaths, the speed limit of e-scooters has been reduced to 20 kilometers per hour in Istanbul.

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s Transportation Coordination Center (UKOME) met to prepare a regulation regarding the e-scooters, which came to the agenda with the recent accidents.

According to the regulation, the speed limit of the e-scooters was reduced from 25 kilometers per hour to 20 kilometers per hour.

Türkiye witnessed the first e-scooter victim, İlknur Akkaya, in Istanbul on Oct. 26, 2021. A driver suddenly opened his car’s door, apparently without looking, which hit her as she passed by and got thrown onto the main road. A bus ran over and killed her accidentally.

A vehicle hit an e-scooter on April 21 in the southeastern province of Gaziantep and caused the death of a high school student. On July 12, a 23-year-old dancer was killed in Istanbul’s Şişli district.

The latest e-scooter accident happened in the Marmara province of Sakarya’s Adapazarı district on Nov. 19 when Hacer Ölmez, who reportedly tried to pass the level crossing with a scooter while listening to music with headphones, died after being hit by a train.

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu announced last month that his ministry will make a new regulation in a bid to prevent e-scooter accidents.

Reminding that a regulation was published on the use of scooters last year, Karaismailoğlu stated that the new rules were not followed by the majority.