E-scooters are dominating our cities, but are they safe?

Wednesday, 26 June 2019

E-scooters can be fast and convenient, but they are not without risk. Is it time for New Zealand to put the brakes on? Brittney Deguara reports.

Walking, skateboarding and cycling is old news. E-scooters are dominating New Zealand streets.

From international brands - American-based Lime, Uber-owned Jump, Australian Wave, and Singaporean Beam - to local start ups such as Flamingo, hundreds of motorised scooters can be seen zipping around the country's major cities. But are they safe?

On Monday, a 58-year-old man who had been riding a Lime e-scooter in cental Auckland died. Exactly what happened is still being investigated, but police said it was not believed to be suspicious.

**READ MORE:

* How NZ's e-scooter options compare

* Man dies in Auckland e-scooter incident

* ACC pays out $740,000 for e-scooter-related injuries in five months

* Electric scooter company Lime tackles safety concerns with helmet giveaway

* E-scooter regulations 'pretty vague': AA backs push for 10kmh speed limit**

Since their debut in New Zealand, e-scooter related incidents have cost the country $2.7 million.

Over eight months - from October 2018 to May 2019 - ACC received a total of 2446 claims - or around 10 claims a day.

However, e-scooter claims are 'very low in comparison with other activities, such as major sports, or accidents around the home,' an ACC spokesperson said.

For example, ACC paid out $76 million across the whole of 2018 on 40,000 new or existing cycling and mountain biking injuries (on and off-road).

Auckland saw the highest claim rate with 1111 e-scooter claims between October 2018 and May 2019, followed by Canterbury and Otago with 686 and 265 claims, respectively.

The majority of accidents reported to ACC were due to a loss of balance or control. Injuries to knees, hands, wrists, arms, ankles, face and head were most common.

One man was admitted to hospital in December with a serious head injury after falling off an e-scooter in the Hutt Valley, the same day Lime launched in the region.

These injury patterns are similar around the world. A recent study - published in the American Journal of Otolaryngology - analysed 990 e-scooter related injuries and identified closed head injuries and lacerations to be most common. 

WHY ARE THESE INJURIES HAPPENING?

There have been a number of issues highlighted with the vehicles including a locking wheel glitch and high speeds - but the lack of helmets has caught particular attention. 

The US study's authors found 66 per cent of patients were not wearing helmets when they were injured.

In New Zealand, helmet use on e-scooters isn't mandatory, though it is encouraged, according to the New Zealand Transport Agency's Road User Rule. 

'The Road User Rule does not require e-scooter riders to wear a helmet, but the Transport Agency strongly recommends that helmets are worn for safety,' an NZTA spokesperson said.

'The rule states that riders must ride in a careful and considerate manner, give way to pedestrians and mobility devices, not ride at a speed that is a hazard to other users and, if on the road, ride as far to the left as possible.'

The brake glitch that affected Lime scooters did a considerable amount of damage before it was rectified. A firmware problem caused the wheels to lock up.

Auckland barista Chris St Bruno was on his first ride when the brakes locked, sending him flying over the handlebars, resulting in a broken collarbone.

His first e-scooter ride 'cost the country thousands of dollars,' he said. 'Hospital stay, ACC payments and now physiotherapy.'

Lime e-scooters were removed in Auckland until the glitch was fixed.

SHOULD THEY BE REMOVED?

Following the death in Auckland on Monday, councillor Christine Fletcher is calling for e-scooters to be removed from our streets until an investigation is complete.

'I'm not calling for a permanent ban but we have a duty of care and safety,' she said.

Several local councils had already suspended licenses for companies, prior to the fatal incident.

In Hutt Valley a week-long 'seasonal pause' was recently announced by Lime, and Auckland and Dunedin councils made similar moves in January.

But considering the number of new companies entering the market and beginning trials, it doesn't seem likely that e-scooters are going to be gone for good any time soon.

Some campaigners say attention should instead be given to providing safer passage for both users and pedestrians.

'It makes sense to put things that are travelling at similar speeds together, so having things like ordinary bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters in dedicated lanes,' Congestion Free Wellington spokesperson Tim Jones said.

'Having e-scooters [that] go a lot faster than pedestrians on the footpaths, I think, isn't a good idea.'

Jones believes the safety onus lies with councils and the companies providing the products.

'The Government and councils need to be taking an active role [in regulating] and the companies need to be acting responsibly,' he said.

The Ministry of Transport is currently developing an Accessible Streets regulatory package, which will look at how e-scooters can be used on footpaths, shared paths and cycle lanes, alongside other street users.

All e-scooter companies have safety policies and procedures in place.

HOW OUR REGULATIONS COMPARE

The regulations surrounding the use of low-powered vehicles in New Zealand remain relatively vague.

'You can use them on the footpath, but only 'at a speed that does not put other footpath users at risk'; a helmet is not legally required, but is recommended… The sooner we have clear and unambiguous rules, the better,' AA principal advisor on infrastructure Barney Irvine previously told Stuff.

An NZTA spokesperson said further regulation - including reduced speed limits and mandatory helmet use - would only be considered after individual council trials of the scooters are concluded.

So what are the current regulations and how do they compare with other e-scooter trials around the world?

SPEED: Some e-scooters are able to reach maximum speeds of 27kmh over 48km. But at the beginning of the year, the Government announced plans to impose a 10kmh speed limit on footpaths.

Politicians in Paris were recently victorious in a similar battle. With around 20,000 e-scooters operating in the French city, the mayor called for companies to limit speeds to 20kmh across the city and 8kmh in high-pedestrian areas.

Both Lime and competitor Bird chose to immediately comply with the mayor's request by reducing their limits.

'This quick response to a new measures announced by the mayor of Paris… demonstrates Lime's commitment to working with cities and serving the needs of a growing number of Parisians,' Lime said in a statement.

In New Zealand, Lime scooters have had their speeds reduced to 15kmh across a range of high pedestrian areas in Auckland - Ponsonby, CBD, Newmarket, Mission Bay, Takapuna - according to a Lime spokesperson. The company is also working with Dunedin council to introduce a 15kmh courtesy zone during the city's trial period.

LOCATION: In terms of where e-scooters can be used, New Zealand's regulations are more relaxed than Australia's.

Kiwi users can take e-scooters on footpaths and the road, but not in designated cycle lanes, as these lanes are for the 'sole use' of cyclists.

They can use the road but are advised to stick to the left and leave the main lane for cars.

In Australia, road rules for e-scooters differ by state, but in Queensland - the first Australian state to introduce e-scooters - riders are only permitted to use the footpath, not the road or cycle lanes.

In New South Wales, Tasmania, ACT, Western Australia, and South Australia, e-scooters can only be used on private land, with the exception of official licensed trials.

RIDER SAFETY: Some companies have taken it upon themselves to provide safety gear for riders, but the onus of wearing a helmet remains on the rider.

Beam provides a helmet, though they're not secured to the scooters, while Lime and Flamingo proposed helmet pickup points or 'hubs' around cities.

Lime asked riders around the world to make a pledge online to 'respect the ride' by wearing helmets and high visibility clothing. The company also committed to distributing 250,000 helmets around the world, but they're still not mandatory.

In California adults over 18 years of age can use an e-scooter without a helmet, while some European Union countries only require helmet use for riders under 15.

However, in Queensland in Australia, all riders are required by law to wear an approved helmet, just like cyclists.

There are also fines in place in the Sunshine State - A$130 (NZ$136) for incorrect use, and A$174 for speeding. Between December 2018 and March 2019, around 300 people were fined by Queensland Police for non-compliance, according to the ABC.