Personal mobility vehicles (VMP), including the popular electric scooters, or e-scooters, that are sold from January 22, 2024, must have a certificate that they are safe (for the driver and the rest of the user) and that they offer minimum guarantees of quality and durability. Those sold until that date and that do not have that certification will only be able to be used until January 22, 2027. From then on, only those that are certified may be used. It is therefore important to note that if you buy one in the runup to Christmas that does not have the mandatory certificate, it will have a limited life.
The General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) wanted to remind everyone of this requirement in conjunction with Black Friday and the Cyber Week retail events, when many consumers consider buying an electric scooter as a gift for Christmas. To clarify things, it is recommended to consult the web address www.dgt.es/vmp. It shows the brands and models already certified and that meet all the requirements set out in the Manual of characteristics of personal mobility vehicles, prepared by the DGT and published in the BOE of January 21, 2022.
WHAT IS A VMP?
A VMP is a vehicle with one or more wheels and powered exclusively by electric motors (batteries up to 100 VDC and with an integrated charger of up to 240 VAC input) that can provide the vehicle with a maximum design speed comprised between 6 and 25 km/h and can only be equipped with a seat or saddle if they are equipped with self-balancing systems.
This definition excludes vehicles for people with reduced mobility, toys, pedal-assisted bicycles, and vehicles classified as ‘L’ according to EU Regulation 168/2013.
The VMPs, being self-propelled exclusively by an electric motor, have the ‘Zero’ emissions environmental classification and are exempt from having it visible.
The circulation of these vehicles is prohibited on pedestrian areas, including pedestrian crossings following the flow of people walking, interurban roads such as the N-332, and motorways, as well as through urban tunnels.
As they are considered vehicles for all purposes, their drivers are obliged to comply with all traffic rules, like everyone else. There are also additional requirements and restrictions.
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