Corkman's new website can show if your e-scooter is legal or not

A Cork amateur software developer has created a new website to help the public figure out if their e-scooter is legal to use on Irish roads.

The website, safescoot.ie, has the tagline: “Find out if your e-scooter is road-legal in Ireland — before the gardaí do.”

The website looks at specifications such as power, top speed, weight, and if a seat or light is fitted and provides a breakdown on seizure risk and where you stand if you already own one.

It is free, and no account is needed to use the software, which was built specifically for Irish law by Warren Brandt, who lives in Riverstick.

Mr Brandt told The Echo that he loves developing software, and scours the internet looking for ideas and opportunities.

“I’m constantly thinking about it,” he said. “But you don’t want to build something that’s been done a hundred times, that nobody is going to use or there isn’t a gap for.

“I listen to the radio, and I have been hearing about the e-scooter laws in Ireland, and I started thinking there’s not much to point people in the right direction.”

The project entailed a couple of months of daily research, and then the development process took five days.

Mr Brandt said: “It’s a nice tool to help people. It’s not something you can’t do on your own, but it makes it easier than going through pages and pages on the RSA website. You put in the specs and it tells you if your scooter is legal or not — it can be used if you already own a scooter or as a reference if you’re buying one.”

It comes as seizures have been ramping up in recent months. Gardaí confiscated 1,412 e-scooters in the first half of 2026 compared to 931 in the whole of 2025, and 310 in 2024.

Some new laws have recently been brought in, and Mr Brandt said that given further law changes were likely soon, he planned to keep updating the site.

He is also considering a suggestion from Green Party councillor Oliver Moran to add e-bikes to the site too. Mr Moran said: “I see e-scooters around town that clearly don’t meet the legal requirements. Somebody has sold them to the people riding them and never advised them of the rules.

“The information is available on Citizens Information, but a website like this makes it much easier to understand if what you’re planning on buying, or own already, is legal or not.”

He said that the same goes for e-bikes. “There are retailers willing to sell unsuspecting buyers bikes that are legally e-mopeds, that need to be registered, taxed, and in some cases require insurance and a driver’s licence.”

He congratulated Mr Brandt for “a smart, helpful, and useful” website.

“In a time of tech billionaires and ethical questions about AI, it’s a real example of socially conscious software,” he added.