Daredevil paid $1000 to ride Lime e-scooter into Auckland Harbour
Wednesday, 13 February 2019
Auckland's Viaduct has been spiked with a Lime e-scooter after a daredevil was bet $1000 to ride one directly into the harbour.
Do you know more? Email newstips@stuff.co.nz
Footage of the feat showed a shirtless man powering down a wharf before steering straight off the edge and plunging into the water metres below.
The video of the feat was posted on the stuntman's Instagram page on Tuesday.
**READ MORE:
* Explainer: Where can you ride e-scooters?
* Government looks set to impose 10kmh Lime scooter limit
* Baldwin St scooter rider's motivation for conquering steepest street
* Lime admits to e-scooter fault which locks up wheels at speed, causing 'excruciating' injuries**
'My friend paid me $1000 to do it,' he said.
The man, who would not give his full name, appeared to work in club promotions and as a host.
The video had been viewed more than 2000 times by Wednesday morning.
A Lime spokeswoman said the behaviour in the video did not 'reflect Lime's rider community'.
'The majority of our riders respect Lime's products because they love the service we provide,' she said.
According to Lime's terms and conditions, if scooter is vandalised, lost or broken, then the user who unlocked it is liable for up to US$1500 (NZ$2299).
Lime, a Californian company, launched in Auckland and Christchurch in October. Its Auckland trial has recently been extended until the end of March.
Upper and Lower Hutt got the e-scooters in mid-December and Dunedin welcomed the scooters in January.
The launch has not been without hiccups, including a fault that locks up the e-scooters' wheels at speed.
People have also reported broken bones and head injuries after falling from Limes.
ACC has paid out $200,000 for e-scooter-related injuries in the past few months.
The Government was also looking at law changes that would impose a 10kmh speed limit for the e-scooters.
The footpath speed limit was part of a package of law changes called Accessible Streets, which would likely go out for consultation in early 2019.
However, Transport Minister Phil Twyford told Auckland Mayor Phil Goff a speed limit would not be effective unless it led to positive behavioural changes.
Twyford said he was not considering a law change to make helmets mandatory when riding the scooters.