Rome mayor says electric scooter users must respect the rules.

Rome mayor Virginia Raggi has added her voice to the growing controversy surrounding the dangerous use of electric scooters in the capital.

Raggi said that the "rules must be respected" and promised that the city would launch an awareness campaign about the correct use of electric scooters, which are particularly popular with younger Romans.

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The e-scooters have attracted a flood of negative headlines in Rome since the city opened the door to the vehicles, which are now widely available for purchase or hire.

It is common in the city to see two people aboard the electric scooters, something that is prohibited on safety grounds, as well as seeing scooters zipping down sidewalks or thrown on the ground.

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This misuse is being tackled by several of the scooter-sharing companies, on "hotspot" streets in the city centre such as Via del Corso and Via dei Fori Imperiali, as reported by Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

There have been multiple e-scooter accidents in Rome in recent weeks, mainly involving pedestrians being knocked down, as well as reports of privately-owned electric scooters having their engines modified to make them faster.

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The city's bus drivers and taxi drivers have also voiced their concern over the danger presented by the reckless use of the e-scooters, particularly at night.

Photo La Repubblica