Electric scooter in Lyon: are you well insured?
What is the risk of riding an electric scooter on public roads? In Lyon, the situation is particular.
Depending on whether you ride with your own electric scooter or whether you rent it from an operator, the situations diverge. And according to the operators, the conditions of liability are not the same. We explain to you.
What are the risks of renting an electric scooter?
The two self-service scooter operators selected by the City of Lyon (based on criteria of ecological ambition, user safety and social policy), the Franco-Dutch Dott and the German Tier Mobility, are good students in the matter. Their terms of use clearly mention the insurance policy used and civil liability coverage for bodily injury and property damage.
At Dott’sduring the rental period of the vehicle, the user has insurance covering liability towards one or more third parties for bodily injury or property damage resulting from an accident during the use of a vehicle, serious injury (partial or total permanent disability) or death following an accident during use of a vehicle.
Stageon the other hand, a partnership with the insurer AXA guarantee the civil liability of users when material and/or bodily damage is suffered by a third party, on the occasion of an accident in which the user is involved while driving an electric scooter.
What are the risks of using your own electric scooter?
Since a decree of October 2019, an electric scooter is assimilated to a land motor vehicle, in the same way as a motorcycle or a car. The driver of an electric scooter thus has the same status as a car or motorcycle driver. The owner of such a machine must therefore insure his scooter. “The user of an electric scooter has the obligation to be insured for civil liability for damages that may be suffered by a third party in the event of an accident, explains Anne-Gaëlle Finet, lawyer at the Lyon Bar, specializing in victims’ rights and compensation for bodily injury from traffic accidents. If not, the consequences can be dramatic. In such a case, it is the Compulsory Damage Insurance Guarantee Fund (FGAO) which will be called upon to intervene in the compensation of the victim. The fund will then turn against the driver to claim the compensation listed.