Por Pablo Arranz 
The Local Police of Alicante has imposed 315 fines in 15 days for non-compliance with the use of personal mobility vehicles (VMP), such as electric scooters, skates, skateboards, and similar devices, as part of the control campaign launched between March 15 and 30.
In addition, as part of this initiative, municipal officers have visited 117 educational centers in the city to inform students, through the placement of posters, about the requirements, characteristics, and different types of vehicles, as well as the traffic rules in urban areas.
Specifically, 35% of the infractions detected by the officers (113) have been for circulating in unauthorized pedestrian areas, while 21.6% (68) for doing so in non-permitted lanes. Another reason, which has caused 14.3% (45) of the fines, has been for not wearing protective helmets, as reported by the City Council in a statement.
In addition, 19 fines have been imposed for reckless driving; 16 for driving with headphones, helmets, or using a mobile phone; 14 for not respecting age limits; 13 for carrying a second passenger; 12 for using bus lanes or the tram platform; ten for lacking a bell, lights, or brakes, and five for other reasons such as running a red light or driving in the opposite direction. The VMP control campaign has allowed the inspection of a total of 378 vehicles, and five of them have been immobilized.
The Councilor for Security, Julio Calero, has highlighted the work «to improve road safety with campaigns like this, aimed at controlling scooters and other personal mobility vehicles.»
At this point, he recalled the action of the Urban Mobility Department with the installation of radars at the city’s main access points, «which have managed to reduce the speed of passage on a road limited to 50 kilometers per hour and, therefore, improve road safety and the risk of accidents.»
«This series of control campaigns have also focused on street cleaning and uncontrolled waste dumping, which resulted in one hundred fines in ten days, and now we have continued with vehicle control associated with an informative and educational action in the city’s schools,» Calero emphasized.
The councilor also stressed that «drivers of these vehicles must know how and where they should circulate,» as well as what equipment is necessary, in order to «comply with the municipal ordinance.»
The campaign has emphasized the places where electric scooters are prohibited from circulating, such as sidewalks, paved walkways, pedestrian areas, bike and bus lanes, and the TRAM platform.
Likewise, controls have been carried out in different areas of the city, such as the Xixona avenue axis, Plaza de España and Plaza de Santa Teresa, the City Hall and the Old Town, Alfonso El Sabio avenue, the Central Market and Jaime II avenue, Ciudad de Asís, San Blas, North Zone, Benalúa and Babel, beaches, the Pintor Baeza-Colombia, Altozano, and Los Ángeles streets axis, La Florida, South Zone –via Elche avenue–, Gran Vía, and San Gabriel.
FINES OF BETWEEN 100 AND 500 EUROS
One of the objectives of this campaign, as indicated by the City Council, is «to ensure respect for pedestrians’ right of way and the adjustment of speed to pedestrians’ pace,» as well as «to pursue negligent or reckless driving.»
The minimum age allowed to ride VMPs equipped with an electric motor is 16 years, and only one passenger is allowed on board. In addition, the municipality reminds that violations of the municipal ordinance can be fined between 100 and 500 euros.