E-scooter fine disputed by user
Patrick Payne was riding a Lime e-scooter in Lower Hutt when he was pulled over and fined $150 by police for ignoring a give-way sign at a roundabout.
Payne did not dispute he had disregarded the sign but said he could not be penalised for doing so and was challenging the fine.
There were only rules for the use of e-scooters on footpaths, he said.
‘‘An [electric] scooter is not a motor vehicle under New Zealand regulations. There’s no actual law concerning their use on the road – the whole thing is a grey area.
‘‘I have no doubt I was being a nuisance, but I don’t want to pay the $150. If I can get away on a legal technicality, I’ll take it.’’
Payne had formally disputed the infringement notice with the police and was ‘‘quite prepared to go to court’’ over the matter.
The officer that stopped him cited rules concerning motor vehicles. However, Payne said a Lime e-scooter was not a motor vehicle but a low-powered vehicle as the e-scooters had a maximum power output below 300 watts.
A police spokeswoman said e-scooters were classified as
vehicles so were subject to the same rules as other low-powered vehicles, such as e-bikes.
New Zealand Transport Agency spokesman Andy Knackstedt said the Land Transport (Road User) Rule applied to e-scooters and included the requirement that riders ‘‘must ride in a careful and considerate manner’’.
He added that e-scooter users riding dangerously on the footpath, cycle lanes or road may be subject to police enforcement.
Despite trying to use a ‘‘grey area’’ to his advantage, Payne said more regulation around e-scooters was needed so people could be held accountable. ‘‘The Government has to do something about it. Otherwise it’s going to be chaos.’’