Govt won’t ‘rush’ to regulate use of e-scooters
The Government won’t ‘‘rush’’ to change the law around riding e-scooters drunk, despite an intoxicated rider suffering serious injuries.
Aucklander Amy Gianfrancesco fractured her neck, chipped a tooth and suffered serious bruising after falling off a Lime e-scooter. She had been drinking alcohol before the incident.
She is now calling for better regulations and suggested e-scooters should be ‘‘locked’’ at night so people who have been drinking can’t use them.
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.
‘‘I don’t want to rush to overregulate 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.’’
E-scooter riders could not be charged for excess breath alcohol as the scooters are under 50cc, a police spokeswoman said. But they could be charged with endangering or reckless behaviour.
The NZ Transport Agency strongly discouraged people from riding e-scooters under the influence. Its road safety director, Harry Wilson, said e-scooters should 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.’’