No rush from Government to crack down on riding e-scooters drunk

Monday, 17 December 2018

Lime e-scooters could roll out in Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, Dunedin and Queenstown.

The Government won't 'rush' to change the law around riding e-scooters drunk, despite an intoxicated rider receiving serious injuries after falling from one.

Aucklander Amy Gianfrancesco fractured her neck, chipped her tooth and was left with serious bruising after falling off a Lime e-scooter. She had been drinking alcohol prior to the incident.

She is now calling for better regulations and suggested e-scooters should be 'locked' at night so people who have been drinking couldn't use them.

Amy Gianfrancesco fell off a Lime scooter in Grey Lynn and fractured her neck. Now she's calling for tighter regulations.

But Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter said e-scooters offered real benefits and she wanted to wait until the Lime scooter trial was complete before seeing if further regulation was required.

* Man in hospital with serious head injury following scooter accident

* E-scooter injury claims and near misses spark safety fears**

Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter says she is waiting until the Lime e-scooter trial is over to decide if more regulation is needed.

'I don't want to rush to over-regulate e-scooters and waiting for the trial to run its course will ensure we have real-world data and experience to base our decisions on,' Genter said.

'In the meantime, I would urge people to not use e-scooters recklessly.

'E-scooter users should be aware they are not invincible and to proceed carefully.'

Currently, e-scooter riders could not be charged for having excess breath alcohol as the scooters are under 50cc, a police spokeswoman said.

But there was the potential for riders to be charged with endangering or reckless behaviour.

The New Zealand Transport Agency said it strongly discouraged people from riding e-scooters under the influence.

Its road safety director Harry Wilson said e-scooters were becoming a more popular mode of transport and needed to be used safely.

'As is the case with bicycles, electric bicycles, skateboards and other recreational devices, while there is no specific legislation which governs the use of these devices by people under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the current rules require that users operate these devices in a careful and considerate manner,' he said.

'Impaired users of e-scooters and other similar devices can potentially be charged with a range of offences, and the NZ Transport Agency strongly discourages this practice.'

Matt Lowrie, founder of urban planning publication Greater Auckland, said drinking alcohol and then riding a Lime scooter was 'stupid'.

'That's the same with any issue when you're consuming alcohol and trying to operate a vehicle or machinery,' Lowrie said.

'There [are] inherent dangers.'

However, having regulations such as compulsory helmets when riding Lime e-scooters would only prevent use, Lowrie said.

People had to be careful about what regulations were enforced as they could have more negative transport impacts, he said.

'More people are likely to be driving or using some other form of transport that might contribute more to congestion or might have more emissions.'

Police and Lime have been contacted for further comment.