Auckland man left gashed, battered and bruised after Lime e-scooter 'didn't stop'

Friday, 26 October 2018

Auckland man George Bryant was left battered and bruised after an e-scooter incident.

GRAPHIC CONTENT: An Auckland man has been left gashed and bruised after jumping off a Lime e-scooter to avoid a crash.

George Bryant, 32, said he was scooting down a three-to-four degree decline near his Point England home about 7pm on Wednesday when he pulled on the brake, but the scooter 'didn't stop'.

Not wanting to collide with road works or any of the parked trucks nearby, Bryant made the split-second decision to bail off the scooter.

Auckland man George Bryant has to get his bandages changed every day after a e-scooter incident left him bruised and bloodied.

'The scooter's brakes worked fine – and then they didn't,' he said.

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Bryant said the doctors spent hours cleaning the grit and dirt out of his wounds.

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'It was either go into the road works or into the curb – so my instinct was to jump off.'

The heels of his both of his hands were badly grazed.

The mechanic suffered gashes to the heels of both hands and elbows, left knee, shoulder, and fingers, as well a road rash down his right arm.

The left side of his body bore the brunt of the impact.

He said his finger looked like it had been through a cheese grater.

'My left index finger is disgusting. It looks like it been through a mincer or a cheese grater,' Bryant said.

He called his partner and 45 minutes later he was in hospital getting grit cleaned out of his flesh and his wounds dressed, he said.

E-scooters can travel at speeds of up to 27kmh and have a maximum range of 48km.

'I've ridden motocross bikes, skateboards, mountain and BMX bikes; I've never felt as terrified having an incident on one of those than I did on that scooter,' Bryant said.

'I honestly think I just underestimated how dangerous these things can be without wearing the right protective gear.

'I don't want to be a spoil-sport, or the fun police, but right now I think they should be banned or at the very least have better safety precautions. They just go too fast.'

Bryant planned to lay a formal complaint with Lime once things had settled down.

Lime's New Zealand launch manager Cameron Swanson said the e-scooters' brakes were mechanical, and were not something that could 'just work or not'.

However, brakes could be worn down or loosened if they were being ridden on bumpy roads, Swanson said.

At the end of each trip, users could rate their experience and tell Lime if something went wrong.

If the company was told something went wrong it would deactivate the scooter and a team would be dispatched to collect it, he said.

'No one will be able to rent it after they report an issue and it will be completely deactivated and should be collected within a few hours,' Swanson said.

'Pay attention to your surroundings, make sure that you're in a safe environment and if it's a steep gradient on a hill then maybe look for another option or walk the scooter down the hill.'

'We don't want people flying down hills,' he said.

Since the scooters needed to be charged everyday, that meant someone was looking at them everyday, and if there were any issues Lime could catch them before they went out, Swanson said.

'We have a full time team of people that are checking them on their own – we've got a 24/7 operation.

'We have a morning crew, a midday crew and an overnight crew – our midday crew is often out and about around town, sometimes riding scooters themselves, and checking on scooters that are in the area checking to making sure the scooters are sturdy and in proper working condition.'

People who charged the scooters, known as 'juicers', also had the option to report any problems they came across, he said.

Although users may not get a response, the app was likely the best way to report any e-scooter concerns, he said.