I have been following the new electric scooters "problem" since the beginning and have arrived at one depressing conclusion: When Maltese society tries to find a solution to a particular "problem" we collectively create another 10 instead!

Many people are annoyed that these electric scooters are used on the pavements where they are a danger to others. They are absolutely right. Others complain about the erratic and careless way they are used in busy public roads. Again, these are completely right.

Now, all of a sudden, the Malta Transport Authority, the wardens, the police, insurance companies, importers (and their lawyers) are in a free-for-all - with the former issuing edicts and the latter fighting them tooth and nail.

However, why single out electric scooters when the problem has existed for decades with bicycles that, after all, are easily capable of reaching double the pathetic speeds electric scooters can manage? We have all witnessed children doing stupid things on bicycles for years, yet we have hardly ever heard a similar public outcry, let alone seen the suspiciously intense coverage in the printed media.

So let us focus on the problem and perhaps venture a solution by starting with a definition. Basically, an electric scooter is a small, lightweight two-wheeled vehicle powered by a weedy electric motor capable of reaching a top speed of about 30km/h. To put things into perspective, the power of an average electric scooter is about less than half that of a domestic food mixer and about one fifth of a hand-held hair dryer! So I think that emotional, panic-filled letters to the press, pointing fingers at imaginary rip-roaring scooters and their riders performing death-defying stunts should be taken with a pinch of salt.

A bicycle too is a small, lightweight two-wheeled vehicle but, for those who need reminding, they are capable of much higher speeds. So for the purposes of our analysis we can ignore the fact that electric scooters are battery powered while bicycles are human powered since, to all intents and purposes, the function and effects of electric scooters and bicycles are identical. Technically speaking, we can put them into the same basket.

The crux of my argument is that if the public are (quite rightly) complaining about irresponsible riders on pavements and public roads then it should be those riders (both bicycle and electric scooter) who should be brought to book. It is fundamentally incorrect to carpet-bomb all and sundry by condemning the latter to oblivion by means of yet more regulatory measures.

For heaven's sake is life not complicated enough without having to worry about yet more road licences and insurance policies? Must we continue with inventing permits for any new fad that people take to? Why cannot a person just hop on a scooter and go up the road to do some shopping, end of story?

In my opinion the solution is simple - treat electric scooters as you would bicycles and give them complete freedom while clamping down on offenders. If anything, the police authorities should take the bull by the horns and encourage electric scooter users to attend the road safety awareness campaigns they organise for young cyclists.

On a different but related tack, if the authorities have suddenly been possessed by a saintly urge to enforce road safety by picking on electric scooters, why not go the whole way and tackle the perennial problem of horse drawn carts - or trucks without brakes or lights for that matter! If I had to choose between being hit by a scooter or a runaway horse or truck, I know what I would opt for.

Better still, why not focus on the atrocious driving that threatens our lives daily? Why not force VRT failures off the road once and for all? I think the reason for the sudden flurry of activity regarding electric scooters is obvious - children on scooters are soft targets whereas the above problems are harder nuts to crack. The authorities must be seen to be doing something so they choose the path of least resistance.

Regarding persons more accustomed to driving cars, the more these can be persuaded to use electric scooters, the fewer cars we would have running around. It does not take an Einstein to figure out that fewer cars mean less traffic congestion, easier parking and less pollution.

Handled with care and foresight the rising electric scooter phenomenon could turn out to be a minor blessing in disguise in that it could help ease our traffic woes. I think that so long as people are encouraged to ride safely and responsibly, free market forces should be left to reign.

It would be long-term foolish for the government to consider electric scooters as a new means to more revenue as it would for insurers to look upon them as an emerging business opportunity.

For goodness sake, if the people can be trusted to shape our country's destiny by means of far-reaching political decisions, cannot we be trusted to choose our mode of transport without excessive bureaucracy and state interference? Must the authorities intervene in such mundane aspects of our lives?