Mobility scooters and enclosed disability vehicles
Mobility scooters and other disability vehicles, such as electric wheelchairs and Canta-like vehicles, have their own legal status and corresponding rules [2]. Legally (Article 1.1 of the Dutch Regulation of Vehicles [3]), a disability vehicle is a vehicle “that has been designed to be used by a disabled person, that is not wider than 1.10 m. and that is not equipped with an engine, or only with an engine that allows for a maximum construction speed of 45 km/h, not being a motor vehicle with a limited speed nor a farm or forestry tractor.” Using a mobility scooter or an enclosed disability vehicle does not require a licence.
Microcars
Legally, the microcar is a moped, since the concept of a microcar is legally unknown and is therefore not included in the Regulation of Vehicles. Statistics Netherlands define a microcar as a “motor vehicle with four wheels, not being a disability vehicle, with a maximum construction speed of 45 km/h and an unladen kerb mass of less than 350 kilos, not including the mass of the electric vehicle batteries, equipped with a spark ignited diesel engine with a cylinder capacity of not more than 50 cm3 ” [4]. Driving a microcar requires an AM licence (moped licence) and passing a microcar practice test, resulting in an AM4 code. AM licences are not subject to medical fitness requirements.
Legal requirements and regulations
This table summarises the main legal requirements and regulations for the three categories in the Netherlands:
|
Mobility scooter and electric wheelchair |
Enclosed disability vehicle |
Microcar |
|
|
Allowed on trunk roads and motorways |
No |
No |
No |
|
Allowed on 50/80 km roads |
Yes* |
Yes* |
Yes* |
|
Allowed on bicycle tracks |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
Allowed on pavement or in pedestrian precincts |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
Parking on pavement |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
Minimum age |
16 ** |
16 |
16 |
|
Driving licence |
No |
No |
AM4*** |
|
Maximum vehicle speed |
45 km/h**** |
45 km/h**** |
45 km/h |
|
Official disability resource |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
Maximum width |
1.10 m |
1.10 m |
2.00 m |
|
Maximum height |
2.00 m |
2.00 m |
2.50 m |
|
Maximum length |
3.50 m |
3.50 m |
4.00 m |
|
Road tax |
No |
No |
No |
|
Mandatory seatbelts |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Registration number |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Liability insurance |
Yes (insurance sticker) |
Yes (insurance sticker) |
Yes |
|
* unless slow traffic is banned (Traffic Code sign C9); ** no minimum age if mobility scooter has a maximum speed of 10 km/h; *** passing a microcar practical driving test to obtain an AM4 licence is required; **** on the pavement and in a pedestrian area a maximum speed of 6 km/h applies, on moped and bicycle tracks in and outside the urban area the maximum speed is 30 km/h and 40 km/h respectively, on all carriageways a maximum speed of 45 km/h applies. Depending on the model, mobility scooters actually have a maximum speed of 7 to 20 km/h. |
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