In Marseille, according to the deputy in charge of youth, Hedi Ramdane, we deplore more than one electric scooter accident per day. In order to reduce the risks, the city has decided to vote on Wednesday at the municipal council for an unprecedented experiment aimed at fully financing the preparation for the Highway Code of 100 young Marseillais aged 16 to 18. Young people who will mainly come from areas of residence in priority areas of city policy or areas far from public transport.
“You can come from priority areas of the city in Marseille and be in areas well served by public transport, recalls Hedi Ramdane. This device will not solve the inequality in public transport in Marseille, but it can help some young people to find a job. And at least when they take scooters, they’ll be more careful about following the rules. Parents’ income will also be considered in the choice of candidates.
Between 10,000 and 15,000 euros in total
Concretely, a training course in the Highway Code of ten three-hour sessions will be given to the 100 volunteers who will have sent their application via the city’s website, within municipal structures, as well as the presentation for the examination of the Code of the road. “The estimated cost per young person is 135 euros, and the services have estimated the cost of this experiment between 10,000 and 15,000 euros for the end of the year 2021.”
The report submitted to the vote on Wednesday specifies that this training will be carried out through service providers, selected at the end of a contract with an adapted procedure. “If they fail the exam, remedial sessions will be offered to them for a second pass,” says the report.
“Until now, there were support systems for the driving license, but no help for the Highway Code,” notes Hedi Ramdane. And to affirm: “We have the ambition to go further. If the experiment is satisfactory, we would like to extend it to 1,000 young people. The city of Marseille also says it is thinking of training its agents, so that they themselves pass the Highway Code to the young people selected.