Cork councillor proposes allowing 16-year-olds to drive 'micro cars'

Cork councillor Damien Boylan says Ireland should follow Europe in allowing 16-year-olds to drive small battery-powered quadricycles

A Citroen Ami micro car.

A Cork councillor has proposed that teenagers be allowed to drive “micro cars” from the age of sixteen.

Quadricycles are battery powered cars which are defined by limitations in terms of weight, engine power and speed. They are common in France, Italy and Finland.

Cllr Damien Boylan of Cork North West told Newstalk radio the move should be taken to bring Ireland “in step with the rest of Europe”.

“Am I suggesting that 14-year-olds should be handed the keys to the car and let off into the sunset? I’m not suggesting that for a minute.

“If we’re suggesting that we can give a 16-year-old a scooter, some quadricycles are simply scooters with a surrounding to them. If you are allowed ride a scooter at sixteen I don’t see any reason why you wouldn’t be allowed to drive one of these at sixteen."

The typical maximum speed on a micro car is 45 km/h, nearly double the speed limit placed on e-scooters. The average quadricycle is also much heavier than an e-scooter.

Cllr Boylan says that the micro cars are mainly used in city centres.

“What we’re talking about here is urban transport at 30-to-45 km/h through a city.

“They weigh around 500 kilos on average. They are minimal. It is two seats. It is urban driving. Let’s be honest with ourselves. I live in Blarney in Cork and I couldn’t see anybody driving one of these from Blarney in to Cork.

"But if somebody lived in Bishopstown in Cork and they wanted to get in to Patrick St or if they wanted to get over to Blackrock through town, that I could see happening, Or if you lived on one side of Dublin and you were going through the centre of Dublin to the other side I can see these having a use.” 

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The Fine Gael councillor said it is not a case of just “handing these to people".

“The way it is done in France is that anyone who wants to be driving one of these must go through a set of driving instruction hours and must get signed off as competent. So it is not a case where like with the electric scooters anyone over the age of sixteen can just plonk themselves up on an electric scooter and take off.

"Lots of people who would look at something like the Citroën Ami or one of the other micro cars and say to themselves, ‘Yeah, you know, I live in a city, this is about 10 grand, it’s plastic so it won’t rust. It’s electric, so it’s not going to need a lot of servicing and all I want is basic transport to get me to work and get me home, and it ticks that box perfectly'.” 

He added that unlike scooters micro cars have number plates and are registered to drive on the roads.

“They are treated as a car. There is tax paid, there is insurance paid and there is a registration plate up."