And they're sixteen years old: kickshare operators are changing the rules

The Government proposes to raise to 16 the minimum age at which it is possible to travel by means of individual mobility. Kickshare operators, in turn, are not against lowering the age allowed by the offer to the same level. Now, it is possible to use services of short-term rentals of scooters from the age of 18. Sixteen-year-olds drive no less accurately, the operators believe. What is the reasoning behind this decision - "Izvestia" analyzed.

Reached an agreement on age

Current traffic rules allow the use of scooters from the age of 14, but the Russian government wants to raise the age for driving means of personal mobility (SIM) to 16 years old. This and other initiatives were confirmed on November 19 by Vladimir Lugovenko, deputy director of the department of state policy in the field of automobile and urban passenger transport of the agency, during the forum "Transport Week".

Whoosh service was the first to decide to introduce new offer rules.

Already on December 6 in a number of cities, where kicksharing continues to operate in winter, those who are 16 and 17 years old will be able to legally rent a scooter. At the same time, a speed limit will be imposed for them. The service will automatically switch the scooter to Drive mode, in which the speed dial is smoother and the maximum speed is less than usual by a quarter.

Checked through the bank

- This will be the stage of formation of driving culture in guys as soon as they reach the age of 18: the speed for their accounts will increase to the maximum allowed by the traffic rules for SIM. Older teenagers drive quite consciously, but they do not always have enough life experience to make the right decisions in some situations, mostly they are related to the choice of speed mode of travel, - said in the press service of the operator.

The exact age of the user will be established with the help of the application authorization through the bank ID, which contains reliable information about the account holder. At the same time the system of age determination will allow to control more strictly the admission to scooter rental of persons under 16 years old. A mechanism of compulsory verification of the user's age will be introduced. If verification is refused, the account will be available to the user, but the ability to start a ride will be blocked.

Children under 16 will technically be able to register on the app, but they will only have access to the "Driving School" training section. They won't be able to rent a scooter; it will show an error when they try to scan it.

Whoosh is also finalizing technology that uses machine learning to identify signs of a teenager's ride by analyzing a scooter's data set.

- All accounts that raise suspicion, we will ask for verification through the bank's ID, which will provide accurate information about the age of the account owner, - said in the press service of the operator.

Emergency age

According to the internal statistics of the kicksharing service, teenagers of 14 and 15 years old are more likely than others to get into accidents, breaking the rules and colliding with pedestrians. The service plans to track this age group more strictly and cut them off from travel opportunities, including through technology and forced verification.

Those who are 16-17 years old drive carefully and are less likely to get into accidents. Legalizing them and eliminating the gray area while controlling their speed is essential, Whoosh believes.

Now users under 18 deliberately circumvent the rules of kicksharing services, scooters for them are a convenient way to move around the city, an alternative to public transportation.

Sometimes it happens from parents' account and with their permission. The fact is that the age ban of the service contradicts traffic rules - this is what teenagers and parents usually argue their actions.

With parental permission

- Parents should not allow young children to use their accounts, because the child has neither enough mass nor reaction speed to prevent some situation. They can carry danger both for others and themselves - the director of the Association of micromobility Ksenia Erdman told Izvestia.

The seriousness of the problem is shown by statistics. As of November 29, 2024, the largest Russian kicksharing services blocked 508 thousand accounts, 155 thousand of them for transferring control to minors. Additionally, in case of photo or video recording of the violation, i.e. legal justification, the kicksharing services issued fines.

Services can more strictly control age at the registration stage, systematically track and verify the age of users. To do this, they refer to different databases - Whoosh, for example, to the data of banks.

Compliance with federal regulation and service rules on age issues is one of the key factors that will give users, including teenagers and their parents, a reason to be more serious about complying with the requirement and accepting responsibility in case a violation is detected," Whoosh said.

Common denominator

- Operators initially limited the possibility of using their service to the age of 18+. It seems to me that we should gradually go to some common denominator with regard to age. And perhaps it will be the age of 16. You can ride a moped, for example, from the age of 16. By this logic, the age of electric scooter use can be lowered with respect to kicksharing and raised with respect to traffic rules to exactly this age. At 16 is the age of criminal responsibility for serious offenses. And it seems to me, there is a reasonable grain in such a decision, - believes Ksenia Erdman.

She expressed hope that such a measure will make the travels of teenagers transparent. At the same time, operators will face a serious task to identify the age of users and cut off all those below the age limit.

"We are already seeing teenagers on scooters."

Alexander Kholodov, a member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, calls the initiative to lower the rental age to 16 years logical.

- We have under the rules of the road in general from the age of 14 it is possible to move on the roads on an electric scooter. And it is a strange situation that a person can move on a private electric scooter, but cannot move on a rental one. I am in favor of changing the traffic rules from 14 to 16 years old, - said Alexander Kholodov.

He drew attention to the issue of safety and at the same time suggested that the situation on the roads is unlikely to change fundamentally.

- We already see teenagers on scooters. Apparently, when they create an account, they turn it on their parents or do it in some other way. On the positive side, they plan to trim the speed limit a bit. This, in my opinion, will be a smoother transition to electric scooter speeds from a road safety perspective. Let's look at the statistics," Alexander Kholodov noted.

What the statistics say

The Scientific Center for Road Traffic Safety (SCRTS) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation fixes the growth of the dynamics of accidents involving SIM for a year in one and a half times. For nine months of the current year in Russia there were 3897 accidents with participation of means of individual mobility. In these accidents 44 people died, including six minors, and more than 4 thousand people (including 1392 under 18 years old) were injured. And most of the incidents involving SIM occurred on sidewalks, walkways, and pedestrian zones. Often, these incidents occur when the personal mobility aids are exiting an adjacent property.

Igor Morzharetto, a member of the Presidium of the Public Council under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, believes that the issue of electric scooter driving safety should be approached comprehensively.

- We need more control and special training. Now schools are planning to introduce traffic rules teaching. I would introduce it as a course called "Life on the Road", where they would teach not only the rules, but also tell how to use a bicycle and an electric scooter every day," says the expert.