The tuk-tuk, a nightmare for Parisian cyclists and very often a tourist scam, was entitled to its 37th major police operation in six months. This Thursday, the police checked around fifteen vehicles and found a large number of violations. Lack of insurance, unregistered vehicle, missing seat belts… Several tuk-tuks were sent to the assembly point. They will be destroyed if their owners don’t comply.
“We raise them to make sure there’s no hidden engine,” says Magali Charbonneau, cabinet director of the Paris police prefect. Anyone who has electrical assistance over 250 watts “is not allowed to ride on cycle paths (…), and if it is motorized, it must be approved and registered, otherwise it will be removed.” »
By the middle of the year, the police headquarters had already checked more than 360 tuk-tuks, registered almost 500 violations, including around 20 administrative offences, and confiscated 28 vehicles. Very often “tuk-tuks don’t have seat belts for passengers”, points out Magali Charbonneau, “they are a danger to traffic and are the scene of many scams against tourists”. However, among these irregular transport companies, there are four legal tuk-tuk companies: Paris by Tuk-Tuk, Paris Tuk-Tuk, Tuk-Tuk Ride and Tuk-Tuk in Paris.