Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Furore over e-scooters
E-SCOOTERS and electric bikes are a danger on the Sea Point Promenade and one woman has landed in hospital after being hit by one.
Atlantic Seaboard residents have suggested the City of Cape Town create a dedicated lane on the promenade, enforce speed limits and require the fitting of a bell or horn to ensure pedestrian safety. Some suggested legislation to regulate the vehicles.
The City’s roads and parks departments have also been lobbied to look into interventions about e-scooters.
Zandre Engelbrecht travelled to Cape Town from Bloemfontein with the hope of running the Cape Town Marathon for the first time, but she was hit by an e-scooter on the eve of the race.
Engelbrecht has multiple bruises and injuries to her back and leg and is in severe pain.
Her boyfriend, who was running about 2km behind her, took her to the nearest pharmacy, where she was told that she needed to be admitted to hospital immediately.
“I’ve worked with a running coach since May and my goal was to run the Cape Town Marathon which would have been my road marathon debut. A lot of time and money has gone into my training over the past few months,” she said.
Engelbrecht reported the incident to Camps Bay police and was told, because e-scooters are not licensed vehicles, a case could not be opened. Instead, the incident was recorded in the police station’s Occurrence Book.
She is suing the City of Cape Town and the e-scooter rental company for damages.
Another woman was hit by an e-scooter earlier that day on the Sea Point Promenade.
The woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was taking a stroll with a friend when she was hit by a young girl, riding alongside her father.
She heard about Engelbrecht’s incident and expressed concern for her.
“I just want someone to do something about this as a serious accident is waiting to happen. Lots of elderly people walk on the promenade; they would be smashed badly if they were hit.
“I went to the police station. They said that they don’t know if e-scooters are illegal or not. Really? Our police don’t know our laws? They gave me a form for a doctor to complete in order to open a case but I didn’t go to the doctor so no case was opened.”
The woman has an existing lower back issue and later saw her physiotherapist.
It is unclear if being hit by the e-scooter worsened her back issues.
Provincial police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg advised that e-scooter and electric bicycle collision incidents be reported to the nearest police station where an accident report form must be completed, as with motor vehicle accidents.
He said Traffic Services would complete all relevant forms if called to the scene.
Pedestrians are concerned that there is no consensus among police officers and law enforcement on how to deal with these incidents.
“It is clear that there are no rules regarding the use of e-scooters so it makes sense that nobody knows how to approach this.
“Mixed messages are going around and that is quite scary,” said Engelbrecht.
There is no legislation in South Africa that regulates e-scooters, leaving the use of such vehicles a grey area.
Maxine Bezuidenhout, spokesperson for City Traffic Services, confirmed the City received complaints from residents and was aware of such incidents.
“The bikes are legal, provided that they are used legally within the framework of the National Road Traffic Act.
“Their regulation requires national legislation,” said Bezuidenhout.
Mayco member for Urban Mobility Roberto Quintas and Nicola Jowell, councillor for ward 54 on the Atlantic Seaboard, were approached for comment, but neither were able to provide a response in time.
Jowell, however, responded to the woman who was hit on the promenade. Jowell informed her that the incidents are now being tracked “so that there is a better representation of the number and severity”.
Jowell said she had been lobbying the Parks department for interventions “as there needs to be safety measures in place at the very least”.