Noiseless speedsters with blue and yellow police paint should continue to drive around on Norderney: the police on the East Frisian island are holding on to their e-scooters after a one-year test phase. “The e-scooters attract attention as soon as they are used,” said a spokesman for the Osnabrück police department responsible for Norderney of the German Press Agency. The scooters would create citizen proximity to islanders and tourists. “You get into conversation much faster, the e-scooters are a real icebreaker.”
Tourists in particular are impressed that the police are testing new ways in their emergency vehicles and relying on electromobility, said the spokesman. Due to the short range of just 20 kilometers, the scooters have so far been particularly attractive for the offices on the islands.
According to the Osnabrück police department, there were no chases with the e-scooters last year – the top speed of 20 kilometers per hour was too slow for that. The scooters were also not suitable for arrests due to the lack of transport options. That was known before the test, the police said.
Officials on other East Frisian islands also have experience with unusual police vehicles. On Borkum, the police have been using an all-terrain electric motorcycle since 2017, and on Juist an e-quad was put into service at the end of 2019.
