Kazakhstan cracks down on scooter drivers with new law

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has approved and signed a law that requires owners of scooters and mopeds to register them with the police officially.

«The president has signed a law of the Republic of Kazakhstan ‘On Amending the Code of Administrative Offenses’ to improve traffic rules for certain types of transportation and enhance road safety through digitalization,» reported Akorda.kz, the official website of the president.

Along with compulsory registration, the new law introduces the following requirements:

• Scooter drivers are now required to have a driver’s license of category A1, A or B;
• If a person is caught driving under the influence, they will be stripped of their driver’s license and must wait seven years before being allowed to re-apply for it;
• The concept of “average speed” will be introduced and monitored by electronic devices.

According to the authorities, the document will be published soon and will come into effect six months after its release. It took the government nine months to finalize the decision on scooter registration.

The new legislation was announced last month by MP Ekaterina Smyshlyaeva, who said the cabinet would update the national driving regulations for scooter drivers. She also noted that the new rules might also be applied to electric scooters in the future.