‘Smashed smiles’ warning

A dentist is warning of the danger of “smashed smiles” posed by Lime electronic hire scooters.

Dr Andrea Shepperson, who has treated a rider concussed after hitting the pavement face-first, says the e-scooters are endangering pedestrians and riders.

Auckland mayor Phil Goff has asked for an urgent safety briefing from council officials, which is due by the end of this week.

Shepperson, from Lumino City Dental at Quay Park, said the practice, based in Auckland’s CBD, treated a patient last week who, in a bid to avoid pedestrians, braked and lost control, diving into the pavement.

“The patient suffered concussion, pushed a front tooth up into the gum and now faces extensive treatment.”

Shepperson said the injuries would not be a quick fix. “The treatment is likely to involve braces to reposition the tooth, and the risk of a nerve dying with a root canal the outcome.

“The long-term impact of tooth damage for patients, in extreme cases resulting in tooth loss, is a tragedy and avoidable,” Shepperson said.

It was the only Lime-related injury the practice had treated but it was “inevitable” more would come. “It was lucky [it] wasn’t more serious, [it] could have been a brain injury.

“Also, ACC is picking up the tab, they have already been commenting and I can only see this can escalate.”

The incident between her patient and an elderly couple came down to pedestrian confusion, with none of the parties knowing where to turn.

Helmets were a must but they couldn’t be shared as easily as the scooters, it was a hygiene issue.

Just eight days after the scooters were launched in New Zealand, 14 riders had lodged ACC claims.

Nine had come from Auckland users with the rest in Christchurch. A spokeswoman for Lime told the

rider safety was its top priority. “All our users must abide by all the same city and state laws as if they were operating their own cars, bikes or scooters.”

Former Minister of Transport Gerry Brownlee has defended the scooters in a video posted to his official Facebook page. He wanted people to “leave the Lime scooters alone” and said to “let them get on with it and have their fun”.

“Yes there will be accidents, but there will be just as many accidents for all of the rules we have out there that are supposed to be protecting us.”