As with any means of transport, it should be checked from time to time. It never occurs to anyone to drive without checking certain essential points of their automobile, such as tire pressure, lighting, fuel or battery level, etc. These reflexes are to be transposed with the same consistency on the electric scooter to avoid breakdowns or worse, accidents.
The daily use of an electric scooter requires regular checks, to avoid being the victim one day of a breakdown that could lead, at best to immobilization of the equipment, at worst a road accident. Discover the essential checkpoints to ride a perfectly safe scooter.
The tires
Ideally, you should check the quality of your scooter’s tires every month, especially when you use them almost daily. Indeed, the tires can wear out quickly, depending on the type of terrain you drive on and the various obstacles encountered. In the case of tires tubeless, that is to say without an inner tube, heavy wear will harm the stability of the machine and therefore your safety. By eye, it’s pretty easy to see if any of the tires are too slick. If this is the case, to avoid the fall, it is better to change both simultaneously. For tires equipped with an inner tube, like a bicycle, you will need to regularly think about reinflating them.
The brakes
Because it is an essential element of scooter driver safety, the brakes must be checked regularly and do not suffer from any serious malfunction. In general, a simple adjustment of the tension of the brake cable is enough to manage the slightest problem of sensitivity. If this is not enough, do not hesitate to have them checked by a professional who may decide to replace them. In the case of scooters equipped with disc brakes, it is necessary to remember to unscrew them regularly in order to watch their wear and do not hesitate to change them when necessary.
lighting
In order to be sure to always see well in the dark, but also to be seen well yourself, it is necessary to ensure that you have lights that are always in perfect working order. For obvious safety reasons, it is therefore necessary to remember to check the proper functioning of its front and rear lights. Ditto for the brake light, knowing that it suffices to press the brake handle.
The batteries
As with any electrical device powered by a battery, you must regularly check that it is working properly. Even if, over time, the autonomy of the batteries decreases, this does not mean that it should be changed. To keep it as long as possible, the advice is the same as with a smartphone. For example, it is necessary to avoid a complete discharge and not systematically recharge it fully. Ideally, it is therefore better to recharge it from 20 to 80%. In any case, it is advisable to let it cool down a little before connecting it to the mains. Finally, knowing that a battery tends to discharge faster when it’s very cold, it’s better to bring your scooter or bike warm in winter, if possible.
Screws
Finally, it is not useless to tighten the bolts sometimes, so that there is no play and therefore risk of breakage. This concerns all the hardware of the device, from the handles to the wheels, obviously passing through the frame, with each time the appropriate key. The folding system must also be checked. Even if it is not in your habits, it is absolutely necessary to check from time to time that the scooter can bend perfectly.
These regular checks will prevent you from unpleasant surprises. In 2022, 34 people thus lost their lives while driving with motorized personal transport devices (EDPM), mainly electric scooters, according to the latest almost final figures from the road safety report in 2022 published by the National Interministerial Observatory road safety (ONISR).
