You would have thought the biggest problem scooters and mopeds pose to our streets is their speed, and the possibility of one knocking a cyclist clean off the road and into hospital.
Allowing them to share the cycle lane has been a major point of contention in Amsterdam recently, where locals campaigned for them to be banned, and from next January they will be on the majority of the city centre lanes.
Not much concern
But the Danish government’s approval of the speed pedelec, a new superbike that gives the scooter a run for its money at a maximum speed of 45 km/h – 15 km/h above the cycle lane speed limit – suggests it is not an area of concern to the authorities.
It’s no surprise, therefore, to see that a local politician in Aarhus is trying a different tack with the scooter question, claiming the petrol-driven varieties are major polluters that ought to be banned outright.
Outlaw them in city centre first
Eva Borchorst Meinertz, a Radikale councillor at Aarhus Municipality, claims petrol engine mopeds are seven times more polluting than regular passenger cars.
“Compared to most other vehicles, they emit a lot more, and they are particularly carcinogenic,” she told TV2 East Jutland.
Radikale wants the municipality to investigate how many scooters are being ridden in the city, and whether they could be banned in the city centre. Electric bikes are preferable, the party contends.
Several moped riders interviewed by the news station in the city branded the idea “ridiculous”, adding that they were not keen on using a public transport system they were unhappy with.
