In Estonia, you may ride an electric scooter with a top speed of up to 25 km/h and a motor of up to 1 kW. The police already remove more powerful scooters from traffic, but they cannot take them away for good. An amendment to the Traffic Act would give them that right.
Taavi Kirss, head of traffic enforcement at the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA), told ERR that a non-compliant light vehicle is currently taken to a police station and stored until the proceedings end. It is then returned to the owner or the police ask a court to confiscate it. According to the PPA, courts have not granted a single such request.
What would change
- Confiscation without a court order. If a scooter exceeds the 25 km/h or 1 kW limit, the police could take it themselves. The owner would not get it back.
- Not automatic. According to Margus Tähepõld, head of transport and traffic at the Ministry of Climate, the police would assess each case and decide whether confiscation is necessary.
- A licence for children. Under the same bill, riders aged 10–15 would need at least a cycling licence to ride an electric scooter.
Tähepõld said the measure should prevent the same offence from continuing. “A big helmet alone is not enough for safety,” he said.
Criticism: the decision should stay with the courts
Marcus Niin, an attorney at Sorainen, argues that confiscation is a serious interference with property rights, because the property is taken permanently and without compensation. In his view, such a decision should be made by a court, not the executive. If courts have not granted police requests so far, the answer is not for the law to create a shortcut for the police, Niin said.
