usrusr's comment in that thread:
"And less obvious ones, like https://www.ellenator-gmbh.de/ which exists solely to exploit a legal loophole to get something that is arguably more dangerous than a car into the hands of people who are not licensed to drive a car."
I'm 30 years old and don't have a driving licence. Many people learn to drive because their parents paid for lessons. Mine did not.
In university and since, I lived in many different countries. I haven't had a long-term visa. Currently I'm in New Zealand. Here it takes 2 years to get a driving licence. If my residency visa is approved, I'll be able to start learning to drive. For now, I use an old rusty bicycle that I bought from a scrapyard for $20. It would be nice to have a vehicle like that in Paris, because it would cover my head when it rains.
Legislation was intended to educate and protect people, and that is good. The problem is that the educators realised they had a captive market, ramped up prices, and now entire market segments (foreigners, young people) are excluded. Compared to the dangers of other mobility options (e.g. scooters), I think the Ami is much safer. It would be interesting to see how it is treated in other areas of law (parking fines, collisions) compared to bicycles.
I wish for good public transportation. Many Asian countries seem to get it right and it's way less risky statistically. My friend in HK love talking about the buses and trains. They are always on time.
Right now, I would prefer to have this over my bike or a scooter because Indian roads are such a hell. Many people here don't even have driving license and jaywalking is common. A new emerging trend is people sticking to their phone while driving.
I would feel much safer. Even my dad get into almost accidents a few times monthly. He has been driving for decades and always maintain a stable speed of under 45kmph.
In Auckland there's a busway with regular services to the city every 5-10 minutes. The connecting bus to the house goes once every 30 minutes. By bike it takes 10 minutes.
To go from the house to the office would take 1.5 hours by bus. By bicycle it takes 20 minutes.
Similar story in Kaohsiung: the MRT wasn't near my house, so I'd ride a bike to go to it. Other people there drive motor scooters (also dangerous) to and from the MRT. It was somewhat romantic to ride on the back of my girlfriend's scooter, hugging her from behind. I know we would've appreciated the privacy of an enclosed Ami though.
> I'm 30 years old and don't have a driving licence. Many people learn to drive because their parents paid for lessons. Mine did not.
I envy countries that have driving as part of the school curriculum. I was in the same boat as you, and it's an incredible PITA to make the required logbook hours unless you have a partner or very patient friend.
I'd suggest looking into a 150cc motorcycle license, for some reason the regulations are less strict. Still won't keep the rain off your head.
It's much less than 2 years. I think it's only 6 months if you're over 25. (you have to have had your restricted licence 6 months to get a full licence).
If you do an advanced driving course it's 3 months
usrusr's comment in that thread: "And less obvious ones, like https://www.ellenator-gmbh.de/ which exists solely to exploit a legal loophole to get something that is arguably more dangerous than a car into the hands of people who are not licensed to drive a car."