Hundreds of electric scooter users lost their regular driver’s licences after scootering while drunk during Munich’s famous, annual Oktoberfest.
Germany finally authorised the use of electric scooters, or e-scooters on public road and cycle paths in June. However, because they have an engine, e-scooters are considered motor vehicles under German law and therefore driving them while under the influence of alcohol is illegal.
e-scooters in Germany. Image credit: Marco Verch
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According to a police statement released on Monday, 414 people in total were caught riding e-scooters while under the influence, and 254 lost their driving licenses.
Authorities had their hands full during the 16-day festival, where large amounts of beer is consumed, to keep the festival clear of abandoned scooters.
According to CNN, ‘To stop riders abandoning their e-scooters in the grounds, they were prevented from logging out of the scooter hire app while on site, and clusters of abandoned scooters were removed each night from around the city.’
Although a license isn’t required to operate an e-scooter in Germany, users need to be at least 14 years old and abide by the 20 kilometres per hour speed limit.
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