The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation affirmed a provision within traffic regulations that allows electric scooters to be treated as vehicles, with this interpretation noted by RAPSI as reported in the case file.
The case centered on Chepechyan, who was involved in a collision while making a left turn against the backdrop of traffic. The incident resulted in the death of the electric scooter rider, triggering a criminal investigation. The ensuing procedural steps included an automotive forensic examination that concluded the electric scooter qualified as a mechanical vehicle under the current legal framework.
Chepechyan challenged this conclusion, seeking its removal from the court resolution. He argued that only devices requiring a driver’s license should be classified as vehicles, contending that scooters designed for personal use fall outside that category.
The court clarified that the definition of a vehicle in Section 2 of the federal law On Road Safety does not provide a fixed list of devices. Instead, the court emphasized that all vehicles share key technical traits such as engine power, maximum design speed, and a common purpose: to transport people, goods, or equipment by road. This framework supports a broad interpretation that can encompass electric scooters within the category of vehicles for certain legal and regulatory purposes.
Nevertheless, the traffic regulations have not yet designated electric scooter riders as a separate class of road users. The ruling, however, indicates ongoing work toward clarifying and possibly codifying this distinction in future regulatory updates.
Chepechyan argued that the approach was unfair because individuals on roller skates or conventional scooters are treated as pedestrians, while electric scooter users are not. The Supreme Court, however, held that the current regulatory structure does not automatically equate electric scooter users with pedestrians. The motivational portion of the ruling has not been published at this time, leaving the detailed reasoning to future disclosure.
Legal professionals noted to Pravo.ru that classifying an electric scooter as a vehicle can be seen as a compelled and necessary step. Without this classification, applying Article 1079 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation would be problematic. That article provides a right to compensation for damages to health and life arising from collisions involving a vehicle, regardless of fault, which is a central issue in personal injury and liability cases among road users. The broader effect is a more predictable framework for damages in scenarios where an electric scooter is involved, aligning liability with that of other motorized transport under the civil code. This perspective has been discussed by multiple legal observers as a way to streamline the assessment of responsibility and compensate victims adequately. Source: RAPSI; analysis and reporting observed in industry outlets and legal commentators noted by Pravo.ru.