E-Scooters

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (15:55): It is vital to be up to speed with innovations, especially if they improve our lives. Governments like to be hip and cool by embracing new technologies from the gig economy; however, decisions should not be hurried without deliberation. Take ride sharing, rushed in by the Weatherill government and supported by the Liberals to woo millennial voters. Yet, in the process, they destroyed livelihoods in the taxi industry they regulate. The latest fad to catch the eye are battery-powered scooters.

The government and the Adelaide city council agreed to a rushed trial of Chinese made e-scooters in the city for the month of the Fringe and the Superloop 500 motor race. There was an added fringe benefit. I understand part of the deal was that Lime, the company conducting the trial, also provided e-scooters to Fringe staff at no cost. I can see merit in this novel and inexpensive type of transport; however, like ride sharing and those yellow Ofo bikes, this appears to have been another hasty and ill-conceived decision.

They dart around at 15 km/h, and that is quick on footpaths brimming with pedestrians at this time of the year. There are accidents just waiting to happen. Last week, California-based Lime was forced to remove them from New Zealand cities because of a dangerous, sudden braking fault which caused people to be thrown from them. The company claims to be fixing the glitch with a global patch. However, similar reports of sudden braking emerged this week in Brisbane where two riders suffered injuries, and then yesterday in Adelaide with a female rider suffering a badly broken nose.

This problem is not peculiar to Australia and New Zealand. It occurred in Switzerland and in several parts of the United States where there are reports of three people being killed riding them and scooters falling to pieces and catching fire. Popular Los Angeles beachside places like Santa Monica and Venice Beach have banned them.

Considering these incidents, widely reported incredible newspapers like The Washington Post, are historic, with Lime claiming to have fixed the malfunction, why then is it still happening? More than 1,200 injury claims have been recorded by the New Zealand Accident Compensation Authority since they were introduced in October last year. There have been 300 injury reports in Queensland, where Lime also operates. This should ring alarm bells.

Yesterday, while on the steps of Old Parliament House, I watched a young couple gleefully ride sharing illegally on one. The female passenger was not wearing a compulsory helmet. I have seen other breaches of e-scooter trial laws and road rules put out by DPTI. You need to be aged over 18 years to ride one and no licence is required; however, I doubt many users would know the laws. While police have issued a few infringement notices, the laws are either proving too difficult to enforce or there is no will to do so.

Mitchell Price, the Lime executive overseeing the trial, boasts that there has been only one incident in Adelaide from more than 21,000 rides. That just might be one too many, because the same problem they reported fixing overseas and interstate still exists. I have called for them to be pulled from our streets until Lime, which is owned by Uber, can demonstrate that they are safe.

On Leon Byner's FIVEaa radio program this morning, Mr Price put up a senseless argument that cars and motorbikes should also be banned if they crash. Cars and motorbikes must meet stringent Australian design and safety standards. They are not even driven on crowded public footpaths, and if they do suddenly stop for no reason in traffic, endangering its occupants, the manufacturers would be ordered by regulators to conduct a recall. But do not knock it if you have not tried it. Today, I road-tested two with automotive engineer and crash-test expert Grad Zivkovic, who also conducted speed readings with a hand-held radar. It can be an exhilarating experience, but with caveats. At a brisk 15 km/h, handling is difficult without driving experience.

Mr Zivkovic did spot a design flaw. Steering is made much more difficult because the handlebars sit higher than those on motorcycles and bicycles. Speed is governed at a required 15 km/h if you are travelling on a flat stretch. His radar showed they travel between two and three kilometres faster than the e-scooters' speedo readout. On a sloping footpath, such as Kintore Avenue, I hit a top speed of 21 and had to brake hard, so the governor is ineffectual. Mr Zivkovic recommends 10 km/h as a safer option yet remains opposed to them on footpaths. I am not entirely opposed to e-scooters; however, safety of users must be the priority.