Electric Scooters & Road Safety Crimes

The offences committed with electric scooters and Personal Mobility Vehicles (PMV) constitute one of the most recently evolving areas of road criminal law. The protected legal interest is the collective safety of traffic, alongside the life and physical integrity of other road users. Circular 10/2011 of the Spanish Attorney General's Office, reinforced by Circular 1/2017 and subsequent interpretive guidelines, together with consolidated Supreme Court case-law on the criminal concept of "motor vehicle", confirms that electrically propelled PMVs fall within the scope of Arts. 379 to 385 of the Spanish Criminal Code, regardless of whether administrative licensing is not required for their driving.

The criminal classification applicable to PMVs reproduces the classic catalogue of road offences. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (Art. 379.2 CP) is consummated with rates exceeding 0.60 mg/l in expired air or 1.2 g/l in blood, or with any rate when effective influence is accredited. The criminally relevant speeding (Art. 379.1) is practically inapplicable to PMVs due to their technical limitations (25 km/h). Reckless driving (Art. 380) does gain prominence in cases of sidewalk invasion at high speed, wrong-way circulation or "donuts" in pedestrian areas. Refusal to submit to tests (Art. 383) is an autonomous offence of disobedience applied with identical rigour as in cars. Finally, accidents with injurious result activate Arts. 142 (reckless homicide) and 152 (reckless injuries), with autonomous penalties added to the road offence.

The penalties are rigorous and practically identical to those applied to automobiles. Drink-driving or driving under drugs is sanctioned with prison from three to six months, or fine from six to twelve months, or community service from thirty-one to ninety days, alongside driving disqualification of one to four years. Reckless driving carries prison from six months to two years and driving disqualification up to six years. Test refusal is punished with prison from six months to one year and disqualification of one to four years. It is essential to underline that the license withdrawal imposed by sentence affects all motor vehicles: a conviction for drink-driving on an electric scooter equally disqualifies for driving cars, motorcycles and mopeds during the period set by the sentencing court.

The technical defense requires an exhaustive analysis of typical elements. First, the vehicle qualification: although majority jurisprudence assimilates the PMV to the motor vehicle concept, certain reduced mobility models (electric wheelchairs, scooters for minors with power below 250 W) could fall outside the type, opening the door to atypicality. Second, the validity of breathalyzer or drug test: we discuss breathalyzer calibration, compliance with the inter-blow interval, salivary chain of custody and observance of the counter-test right. Third, the fit of the recklessness type: Art. 380 requires concrete danger to life or integrity, not mere abstract danger; in PMVs with low kinetic mass the objective dangerousness may not reach the typical threshold. Fourth, the negotiation of substitute penalty through community service or fine, avoiding prison and minimizing impact on the driving license.

Recent forensic practice reveals a growing volume of abbreviated procedures and fast-track trials for drink-driving on PMVs, especially in large cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville. Provincial Courts have consolidated the doctrine that the PMV is a motor vehicle for criminal purposes, but have also admitted technical defense lines based on evidentiary deficiencies and the atypicality of certain borderline scenarios. At Alonso Sala, with over fifteen years of experience in road safety offences, we intervene from legal assistance at the police station, controlling the testing procedure, preparing the defensive strategy in fast-track trials and, when appropriate, articulating the most favourable plea that minimizes both the custodial sentence and the impact on the driving license.