Man on e-scooter seriously injured in collision with truck in Auckland
Sunday, 23 December 2018
A 35-year-old man has been taken to hospital with serious injuries after colliding with a truck while riding an e-scooter.
A St John spokesperson said they were called about a 'truck vs Lime scooter incident' in Parnell about 9.24am on Sunday. Police later confirmed it was not a Lime scooter and said the e-scooter involved was owned by the man.
The incident happened on Parnell Rd, between Maunsell Rd and Domain Dr.
A Parnell Mobil employee, who wished to be named only as Rashi, said the truck had delivered ice to the service station before the incident happened.
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'The truck driver had just loaded ice in my fridge outside and had driven off; I had turned my back and that's when the crash happened,' she said.
Rashi said the truck driver got out of the vehicle to help the man and got ice out of his truck to apply to his leg, which appeared to be where the most serious injuries were.
The man was unable to stand up and was in a lot of pain, she said.
The e-scooter was lying next to the man but she was unsure if it was damaged in the crash.
A police spokesman said officers were speaking to the truck driver following the incident.
Concerns about the safety of e-scooters have been voiced after California-based company Lime launched 600 electric scooters in Auckland and 400 in Christchurch in October.
They can travel at speeds of up to 27kmh and the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) does not require users to wear helmets.
Safety concerns were raised following a raft of e-scooter related ACC claims.
NZTA has previously said there was no evidence to suggest people should be concerned about their use.
But in October, Auckland mayor Phil Goff called for an urgent council report looking into their safety after a councillor was nearly knocked over by one. He later said he wanted to restrict their speed limit to 10kmh on footpaths.
The Government is also looking at legislation of low-powered vehicles, the category the e-scooters fit into.
Earlier this month, Lime handed out free helmets at its first e-scooter 'safety summit' in Auckland and said it was considering installing helmet pick-up points across the city.