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Attack is the best defense. But it is empty when the responsible city council blames an FRP minister who resigned two years ago.
The electric scooter has become a popular means of transportation, but also a phenomenon that others love to hate. With around 13,000 electric scooters in Oslo, it has become a real battle for space on the sidewalks and streets of the city.
Attack is the best defense, but it’s stupid to throw stones when you’re sitting in a glass house or in the Oslo City Hall.
This is a conflict The municipalities of Oslo have an effective tool to resolve. The Oslo Police Statutes clearly state: ‘Inside or outside a public place, it is prohibited to place or hang anything (…) that may pose an obstacle, danger or inconvenience to traffic and the accessibility of all to a public place.».
You can read for yourself on Lovdata: Regulation on Police Statutes, Municipality of Oslo
Oslo cannot (probably) refuse that private companies start renting electric scooters, just as the municipality can deny people to buy electric scooters privately.
But if you are allowed to own or rent an electric scooter, then there is no blank power of attorney to drive like a savage or dump it on a sidewalk. The beginning is not that difficult. Hertz and Avis are not responsible if tenants drive too fast or park their rental car on a sidewalk.
On the other hand, police statutes provide good opportunities to fine ruthless people, for example with the following statutes: «Users of skates, skateboards and the like in public places are obliged to pay due attention to the people traveling there and around. The police can prohibit skating and the use of skates or the like in a specific public place when necessary for reasons of traffic or surroundings.».
Therefore, it is clear that the Oslo police can fine cyclists in electric parks who drive roughly, impede free movement or are a danger or a nuisance to others.
THE BLAME? Green Party Councilor Lan Marie Berg points to former Transport Minister Ketil Solvik-Olsen (Frp) who resigned in 2018.
Photo: Gorm Kallestad (NTB scanpix)
It’s been a wild west in Oslo though, with rough driving and ruthless parking. In particular, this has created dangerous situations at night. The MDG politician Lan Marie Berg, who is councilor for the environment and transport, has not solved the problem. Before you get in touch with then-FRP Minister Ketil Solvik-Olsen today about something he said and did in 2018 (!).
Read Lan Marie Berg’s post: Ideological chaos in the streets
According to the publication of the ODM City Council, the root of the problem is that electric scooters are equated with bicycles, which supposedly gives users the right to use and park electric scooters on the sidewalks. It is possible, but ruthless cyclists don’t go free at all. Cyclists are also not allowed to dump their bikes on the pavement or ride a bike and expose others to danger (even if it happens).
Lan Marie Berg believes that the problem is not the vehicle itself, but the business model.
I think the problem is politicians who blame each other and do not take responsibility for regulating what could have been a valuable contribution to pollution-free transport. If you own or rent it is indifferent in my eyes, in both cases you are obliged to take others into account. And if you don’t, the police must crack down on the behavior. And if there are too many violations, the municipality of Oslo must exercise its right to close places for electric scooters.
The Oslo Police Statutes are a regulation drawn up on the basis of the Police Act. The regulations were adopted by the Oslo City Council and approved by the then red-green government in the summer of 2007.
If the MDG city council believes that the police statutes are and have been too vague, they and the rest of the red-green city council have had five years to develop new statutes. It hasn’t happened, and then Lan Marie Berg must also take her share of responsibility for the chaos at street level in Oslo.
Attack is the best defense, but it’s stupid to throw stones when you’re sitting in a glass house or in the Oslo City Hall.
P.S! What do you mean? Is it the former Progress Party Minister of Transport, Ketil Solvik-Olsen, or the current Transport Council of the MDGs in Oslo, who must take responsibility for the chaos of electric scooters in Oslo? Write a reader letter!
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