No rush to regulate 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.’’ Searching under water for drowning victims is a grisly task but it will likely be the reality for the New Zealand Police Dive Squad over the summer season.
Senior Sergeant Bruce Adams said it was regrettable that this time of year saw a spike in the number of people recovered from our waters.
‘‘Everyone is getting more active, enjoying the water and unfortunately it’s a bit of a numbers’ game.’’
Every year an average of 110 people die in New Zealand waters, which Water Safety New Zealand (WSNZ) believes could hit 180 by 2030.
Up to 30 people are recovered from the water every year across the country. About 90 per cent of those cases were searches through opaque waters and roughly two-thirds were preventable drownings, Adams said.
‘‘We can’t see what we’re doing so it’s all by feel. It’s not easy.’’ Whether it was a child, husband, wife, grandad, uncle it didn’t really matter – a huge piece of someone’s life was gone, he said.
It might sound very unnerving searching through black waters but for Adams’ team they were motivated to achieve the best outcome for every family and friend left behind by drowning victims.
‘‘It’s incredibly traumatic for family and friends and quite often the communities. When we find what we’re looking for we’re pleased for them. It’s the best of a bad situation, that we’re able to bring closure and hopefully provide some answers.’’
Not every case came with a sense of solution but the police did everything they could, Adams said.
When the dive squad recovered a body they debriefed together. ‘‘Obviously, sometimes the jobs aren’t very pleasant.’’
Then every two months they all come together to talk about every case they had worked on over that period. It helped to talk.
Water Safety CEO Jonty Mills said our environment, while very inviting, could also be incredibly unpredictable and unforgiving.
‘‘It’s part of our culture to play in the water. It’s our playground, it’s who we are as Kiwis.’’
However, we don’t respect the water enough, he said.
‘‘Most people drown because they make bad decisions. It comes down to knowing your own limits, watching out for each other, being aware of those dangers and having that knowledge to be prepared for whatever activity you’re undertaking.’’
Adams said the dive squad wished they never needed to recover the bodies of drowning victims.
‘‘We’re all on the same path to try and reduce those incidences. By the time we are involved the realisation has hit home [to loved ones].’’
Prevention was the only thing that could see the case numbers fall.
Every person was just ‘‘one breath away from drowning’’.