E-Scooter menace continues to plague the world

[glockman]

Kim Willsher in Paris
The Guardian11 August 2019

A 30-year-old man has been killed after being hit by a motorbike while riding his e-scooter on a French motorway.

It is the third death linked to the increasingly popular mode of transport in the Paris region in four months, and has sparked further safety concerns and renewed calls for their regulation.

The accident happened around midnight on Friday on the A86 at Vélizy-Villacoublay, 4km from Versailles to the south-west of central Paris.

The scooter rider was not wearing a helmet and was reportedly travelling in the fast lane when the motorbike hit him from behind. Initial police reports said it was not clear if the scooter had lights.

The motorcyclist suffered multiple injuries and is in a serious condition in hospital. Police found his bike 400 metres from the point of the collision.

Using e-scooters on motorways is banned in France.

The day before the accident, a 27-year-old woman suffered serious head injuries after falling from an e-scooter she was using in a cycle lane in Lyon. A few days earlier a 41-year-old man had been seriously injured after falling from his e-scooter in Lille. Police have appealed for witnesses to both incidents.

The first e-scooters appeared in Santa Monica, California, two years ago and have proven hugely popular in cities across Europe. Fans have embraced them as a quick and economical means of city travel, but local authorities have struggled to respond to increasing safety concerns.

After complaints in Paris, where there are about 20,000 e-scooters, about the threat to pedestrians from those being ridden or abandoned on the pavements, city hall has introduced 20 km/h (12mph) speed limits and fines of €135 (£125) for riding them on the pavement.

In Bruges, Belgium, the mayor has ruled out introducing e-scooters, saying they were “not right” for the city’s medieval streets.

A 25-year-old man was killed after being hit by a lorry in a northern district of Paris in June, the first fatal accident involving an e-scooter in the French capital. An 81-year-old man died after he was reportedly knocked over by an e-scooter in Levallois-Perret, a Parisian suburb, in April.

In the UK, the TV presenter and YouTube star Emily Hartridge was killed when her e-scooter collided with a lorry at a roundabout in Battersea, south-west London, in July.

Germany authorised e-scooters on streets and cycle paths in May, but banned them from pavements.

A 27-year-old man on an e-scooter died after being hit by a car in Helsingborg, Sweden, in May.


https://sg.news.yahoo.com/man-killed-while-riding-e-105905625.html

 

[AhMeng]

Bend Bend Bend!!!!

Where's the pro PMD spammer today? On public holiday leave?

 

[laksaboy]

I think PMDs should be banned and be fully replaced by motorized wheelchairs.

 

[zhihau]

I think PMDs should be banned and be fully replaced by motorized wheelchairs.

4 wheels good, 2 wheels bad

 

[Leongsam]

I honestly don't understand what all the fuss is about. If you look at any human activity a small percentage of people will be killed or injured while participating.

Many people are injured annually slipping in their bathrooms but I don't see a call to ban bathrooms.

Choking on food causes about 1000 deaths per year in the US but do we want the government to mandate that only liquid food is allowed to be consumed.

Motor vehicle accidents are by far the biggest cause of deaths the world over so if we're going to start banning something the automobile would be a good place to start. It would make the roads a lot safer for cyclists and PMDs.

 

[laksaboy]

4 wheels good, 2 wheels bad

I honestly think reaction time, balance and damage limitation are much better if the PMDs were 4-wheeled (wheelchair). There is less incentive to speed or do reckless overtaking. Delivery people can also carry more items on a wheelchair.

 

[syed putra]

You should use common srnse and not use e-scooters on a motorway.

 

[Leongsam]

Hyundai's last mile solution - a RWD foldable e-scooter
Damien O'Carroll12:36, Aug 28 2019


As the way we use and even own cars increasingly changes, more and more car manufacturers are trying to transition into being "mobility companies" as the industry increasingly looks at "first mile/last mile mobility" - or how we travel that first and last stage of a journey, whether it be to and from our car or public transport.

This has led to the rapid rise of e-scooter and bike sharing operations in cities around the world. And it is a big business, too, with recent research data by global consultancy McKinsey & Company showing that the "last mile mobility" market in the US, Europe and China is expected to grow to US$500 billion by 2030.

Not wanting to miss out on a piece of that the Hyundai Motor Group has just revealed a new prototype electric scooter with an interesting twist - the company says it could actually be integrated into its future vehicles.

SUPPLIED

Hyundai has changed the scooter to a RWD format to improve stability.

The new concept builds on its initial concept presented at CES 2017 but is now rear-wheel drive. When mounted in a vehicle, the scooter is charged automatically using electricity produced while driving.

READ MORE:

* Five things a Kiwi car person should look for in an e-scooter
* Hyundai launches car with a solar-charging roof
* Hayden Paddon vs Hyundai in race to make EV competition cars

Hyundai says the new model's shift from front-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive is key in enhancing safety and stability as it positions weight near the rear. Additionally, the company's engineers have added suspension to the front wheel to provide a smoother ride.

SUPPLIED

The folding scooter could be installed in future Hyundai and Kia cars, charging it when docked for last mile use.

"This is the vehicle-mounted personal scooter which could be featured in future Hyundai Motor Group vehicles," said DongJin Hyun, head of Hyundai Motor Group Robotics Team.

"We want to make our customers' lives as easy and enjoyable as possible. Our personal electric scooter makes first- and last-mile commuting a joy, while helping to reduce congestion and emissions in city centres."

The scooter features a 10.5 Ah lithium battery that gives it a top speed of 20kmh and Hyundai claims is sufficient to power the scooter for around 20km on a single charge. It features a digital display that shows battery status and speed, and is also equipped with two front LED headlights and two rear tail lamps.

Hyundai says the scooter's unique and compact folding design means it is lighter (around 7.7kg) and more compact than any similar product and it is also planning on adding a regenerative braking system to increase the scooter's range by 7 per cent.

Stuff

 

[Leongsam]

Five things a Kiwi car person should look for in an e-scooter
David Linklater07:25, Aug 15 2019

ALEXANDER HEROLD

Carmakers are embracing the idea of e-scooters for 'last mile, first mile' commuting.

New Zealanders have gone mad for e-scooters: more than 47,000 were imported last year, double the figure from 2017.

The rental models are often seen as an alternative to riding the bus (or walking if we're realistic), but e-scooters are such a thing now that you might well be thinking about actually buying one.

If you think e-scooters are a threat to the traditional private vehicle as a commuting tool, think again.

ALEXANDER HEROLD

You 'surf' along on the e-tron Scooter, steering with your feet.

Automotive makers are all conscious of the need to become "mobility" companies and many see a future in which you'll still have a car, but use something like an e-scooter for your "first mile, last mile" commuting - once you've parked your (possibly also electric) car or SUV.

READ MORE:

* Electric scooters are good for the environment, right? Here's why it's not so simple
* Capital e-scooters: what are the rules and where can you ride them?
* How New Zealand's e-scooter options compare

Many car brands are already working on their own e-scooters (or at least working with scooter-makers to create bespoke products).

ALEXANDER HEROLD

Audi's e-tron Scooter tops out at 20kmh. Presumably there'll be an RS version later.

There will be some clever stuff to come in future years. Like Audi's "e-tron Scooter", which combines the e-scooter concept with a skateboard in one 12kg package.
It features moveable axles and four-wheel steering, so it steers more like a skateboard. But you have electric power and a handlebar like a scooter, although the rider can still keep one hand free for signalling.

Ride and handling can be adjusted via an app and buyers can personalise with wooden decks and grey/black detailing.

SUPPLIED

Pack away and store when you're not using it, like any other electronic device.

Buyers? Yes, the e-tron Scooter will be on sale by the end of 2020, albeit at a very Audi premium price of 2000 euro (NZ$3500).

Point is, e-scooters are getting past the point of just being a hireable convenience - more often than not a beaten-up and rickety one - and more towards something that you'll own, enjoy and be proud of. Prices vary wildly depending on ability and quality - just like cars - but think upwards of $500 and into the thousands if you want something really special.

If you're a happy car owner who wants to add an e-scooter dimension to your motoring life, here are five car-appropriate features you should look out for.

Portability

BRAD FLAHIVE

To be an 'e-scooter' the vehicle must have an output of less than 300W.

If you're going to own an e-scooter you'll be either carrying it in the boot of your car quite a bit or lugging it around when you get to work (or both).

Foldability is essential then - make sure your two-wheeler can collapse down into a sensible size so that it's easy to store.

Hand in hand with that goes weight: more compact models are under 15kg and that's manageable, but some of the high-end models are getting up towards 30kg - so unless you're planning to use your commute as part of a medium-intensity weight training programme, that's probably not a practical weight.

Power!

SUPPLIED

To work out whether an e-scooter is legally a 'low powered vehicle', you will need to use maths.

To qualify as a "low powered vehicle" under NZ law, an e-scooter must have a power output of less than 300W.

That's important to know as there are "performance" e-scooters around that are much more grunty than that. Feel free, but be aware that the laws covering low-powered vehicles (you can ride them on the footpath without a helmet, for example) may not apply.

By the way, the power of the motor alone is not the sole guide. Maximum power output for an e-scooter is the result of multiplying the battery voltage by maximum amperage. So an e-scooter can have a 600W motor, but with a 12-volt battery and 21-amp controller, the maximum output is 252W.

BRAD FLAHIVE

Scooters have tiny wheels, so good tyres and suspension can make a big difference to ride comfort.

Check the range too, although that depends on the rider's weight. But 20-30km is common.

Also, does the e-scooter have brakes on both wheels or just the front? Some even have anti-lock braking.
Ride comfort

Ride and handling is especially important because e-scooters have to be wearing wheels no larger than 355mm in diameter. That's not an ideal format for comfort and stability.

So make sure your e-scooter has pneumatic tyres (sounds obvious, but take a ride on one of those Limes with solid rubber). Some high-end models even have quite sophisticated suspension. That's the kind of thing that gets a car person tingling.

Connectivity

Connectivity is now a big thing for cars and many scooters too. Apps can monitor riding data and battery charge, but also tailor dynamic features like adjusting the cruise control. Yes, many e-scooters do have cruise control as well.

Phone apps can also be used to lock your e-scooter when you want to leave it unattended - just like when you're finished with your rental.

Loadspace

Tricky one this, but if you're using an e-scooter for a "last mile, first mile" commute, you're probably going to be carrying some stuff.

Most likely in a backpack or messenger bag, but it's worth thinking about what other options there are to hang or store personal items (even a helmet, which is not required but a good idea).

Stuff

 

[borom]

I will vote against the PAP just for this stupidest of policy--allowing PMD's and bicycles who are mainly used by foreigners/PR's,new citizens to terrorise local born on pedestrian walkways and void decks .
If they want to allow PMD's/bicycles , they should have the infrastructure in place. i.e purpose built dedicated bicycle/PMD lanes either on the roads or next to pedestrian walkways (eg the space now used for drains can be covered up with concrete with drainage holes ) .The billions lost by Temasek can easily pay for this but of course they choose to let pedestrians be injured or die as they and their families are not affected.

 

[syed putra]

Don't they have a prooer e scooter?like vespa?

 

[glockman]

Auckland surgeons operating on more e-scooter injuries than motorbike injuries, with total costs passing $400k

30 Aug, 2019 2:00am
By: Isaac Davison
Social Issues Reporter, NZ Herald

As e-scooters have exploded in popularity in New Zealand, more scrutiny is being applied to their potential risks and public health costs. Now, for the first time, the costs of serious e-scooter injuries has been calculated by New Zealand researchers, who have found that they carry some unique dangers.

Surgeons in Auckland are operating on more e-scooter users than on motorbike riders, and the public health costs are beginning to mount.

E-scooter crash victims were also arriving at hospital with the sort of traumatic, multiple injuries usually only seen after car crashes.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12263245

 

[glockman]

E-scooter terror: Concussions, dental work, dislocations and more

26 Jun, 2019 7:58am

By: Emma Russell
Emma Russell is a health reporter for the New Zealand Herald

Hopping on an e-scooter to zip to your next destination can often be quicker than driving or taking the bus in thick traffic - and let's be honest, it's often more fun - but it's not without risk.

New figures show thousands of New Zealanders have been injured after being hit by or flung off an e-scooter.

Since Lime's debut in October last year, e-scooters have costed tax-payers nearly $3 million in ACC injury claims.

This week a 59-year-old man was the first New Zealander to be killed while riding a Lime e-scooter.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12243912

 

[glockman]

E-scooter injuries as severe as car crashes - study
5:39 am on 30 August 2019

Hamish Cardwell, Journalist
@HamishCardwell [email protected]

A new study shows people hurt riding an e-scooter sustain injuries like those from a car crash or falling from a substantial height, and need costly surgery.

Most of the 21 people in the study needing surgery were riding Lime scooters, but the company said it had coincided with a glitch that caused their scooters' wheels to lock randomly. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro

A paper in the New Zealand Medical Journal catalogues a period from October last year until February at Auckland City Hospital.

It said 21 people presented with injuries from falling off e-scooters and needed surgery costing $360,557 - with the total cost to the economy including lost wages of $404,925.

These figures do not include the cost incurred by other injured people needing treatment at the hospital's emergency department, or from GPs or private health care.

The report said these combined were likely to be more than spent on surgeries.

The report said e-scooter injuries were particularly challenging - causing the types of injuries associated with car crashes, or a fall from a substantial height.

This made surgery needed to treat them more difficult and costly, and forced other people needing emergency operations to wait longer.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/397763/e-scooter-injuries-as-severe-as-car-crashes-study

 

[Leongsam]

Auckland surgeons operating on more e-scooter injuries than motorbike injuries, with total costs passing $400k

30 Aug, 2019 2:00am
By: Isaac Davison
Social Issues Reporter, NZ Herald

As e-scooters have exploded in popularity in New Zealand, more scrutiny is being applied to their potential risks and public health costs. Now, for the first time, the costs of serious e-scooter injuries has been calculated by New Zealand researchers, who have found that they carry some unique dangers.

Surgeons in Auckland are operating on more e-scooter users than on motorbike riders, and the public health costs are beginning to mount.

E-scooter crash victims were also arriving at hospital with the sort of traumatic, multiple injuries usually only seen after car crashes.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12263245

Sensationalist headlines make for good clickbait but in reality the injuries caused by scooters is minuscule compared to the cost of accidents caused by bikes, non electric scooters and sports injuries.

Take rugby for example claims are a whopping $70 MILLION a year but the kiwis are not about to ban rugby.

 

[Leongsam]

E-scooters can be fast and convenient, but they are not without risk. Is it time for New Zealand to put the brakes on? Brittney Deguara reports.

Walking, skateboarding and cycling is old news. E-scooters are dominating New Zealand streets.

From international brands - American-based Lime, Uber-owned Jump, Australian Wave, and Singaporean Beam - to local start ups such as Flamingo, hundreds of motorised scooters can be seen zipping around the country's major cities. But are they safe?

On Monday, a 58-year-old man who had been riding a Lime e-scooter in cental Auckland died. Exactly what happened is still being investigated, but police said it was not believed to be suspicious.


READ MORE:
* How NZ's e-scooter options compare
* Man dies in Auckland e-scooter incident
* ACC pays out $740,000 for e-scooter-related injuries in five months
* Electric scooter company Lime tackles safety concerns with helmet giveaway
* E-scooter regulations 'pretty vague': AA backs push for 10kmh speed limit

Since their debut in New Zealand, e-scooter related incidents have cost the country $2.7 million.


Over eight months - from October 2018 to May 2019 - ACC received a total of 2446 claims - or around 10 claims a day.




However, e-scooter claims are "very low in comparison with other activities, such as major sports, or accidents around the home," an ACC spokesperson said.

For example, ACC paid out $76 million across the whole of 2018 on 40,000 new or existing cycling and mountain biking injuries (on and off-road).

Auckland saw the highest claim rate with 1111 e-scooter claims between October 2018 and May 2019, followed by Canterbury and Otago with 686 and 265 claims, respectively.

The majority of accidents reported to ACC were due to a loss of balance or control. Injuries to knees, hands, wrists, arms, ankles, face and head were most common.

One man was admitted to hospital in December with a serious head injury after falling off an e-scooter in the Hutt Valley, the same day Lime launched in the region.

These injury patterns are similar around the world. A recent study - published in the American Journal of Otolaryngology - analysed 990 e-scooter related injuries and identified closed head injuries and lacerations to be most common.




WHY ARE THESE INJURIES HAPPENING?

There have been a number of issues highlighted with the vehicles including a locking wheel glitch and high speeds - but the lack of helmets has caught particular attention.

The US study's authors found 66 per cent of patients were not wearing helmets when they were injured.

In New Zealand, helmet use on e-scooters isn't mandatory, though it is encouraged, according to the New Zealand Transport Agency's Road User Rule.

"The Road User Rule does not require e-scooter riders to wear a helmet, but the Transport Agency strongly recommends that helmets are worn for safety," an NZTA spokesperson said.

"The rule states that riders must ride in a careful and considerate manner, give way to pedestrians and mobility devices, not ride at a speed that is a hazard to other users and, if on the road, ride as far to the left as possible."

 

[Leongsam]

The stats continue to look grisly.

There have been 2211 e-scooter accident claims since October 14, including 359 fractures or dislocations, 46 involving concussion and 44 dental injuries.


The worst accidents have required hospitalisation, such as 26-year-old Dunedin woman Renee Whitehouse, who suffered serious injuries including a fractured skull when her Lime tangled with a truck on January 18, and 27-year-old Auckland man Liam Thompson who broke his jaw after being thrown over his Lime's handlebars on February 9.

The Herald raised the cost of Lime scooter accidents to Lime's global head of operations and strategy, Wayne Ting, as the American visited Auckland during April amid lobbying over the second phase of the city's e-scooter trial.

Ting defended his company from several angles.

"One of the unfortunate challenges is that any sort of transportation hardware has inherent risks," he said. But he added that e-scooters are safer than other forms of transport.

Going by ACC stats supplied to the Herald, he's correct on that score.

Even allowing for the fact only half the population has access to e-scooters from rideshare companies, their ACC cost is dwarfed by claims for other modes of transport.

Related articles:

Ordinary scooters racked up 8131 claims between the week starting October 19 last year and May 10 - or four times as many as e-scooters.

And the total cost of scooter-related claims was $3m, or a third more than e-scooters.


ACC also supplied figures for bicycles, which were the source of 2106 new claims between October last year and April this year which, with other active cycling claims, cost the agency $17.1m for the period.

And cars were the cause of 12,627 new claims over the six months which, with active car claims, cost ACC a total $168.9m.

Although it's cold comfort to the likes of Thompson, with his broken jaw, the money ACC pays out for Lime change is chump change in the state insurer's greater scheme of things.

Motorcycle claims were still being compiled by ACC at press time - but the fact they're taking more than a week to compile hints at their size.

Ting also noted that while e-scooter ride-sharing operators have rapidly expanded to cover around half our population (they're in Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, the Hutt Valley and shortly Wellington), there's also been something of a personal e-scooter boom nationwide - just go into any cycling shop and try to buy an e-scooter for personal use and you'll probably find yourself on a waiting list.

Again, the figures suggest he has a point. ACC does not record how many claims in Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and the Hutt relate to Lime and smaller rival Wave.

But its figures do show that outside those areas, ACC clocked $423,000 in e-scooter claims, which would all have been for personally owned e-scooters - a not insubstantial sum.

Lime ambassadors in the Auckland CBD, who dispense safety tips as one of the rideshare operators new safety initiatives introduced in the New Year. Photo / Chris Keall.
Ting also addressed a firmware bug during February that Auckland Council said was responsible for 31 injuries - and which also coincided with Lime's worst three weeks for injuries. (The weekly injury count has since tailed off notably, despite more scooters being available.)

The operations manager aid the bug - which saw Limes pulled from Auckland and Dunedin streets for a week - has been sorted.

The episode also saw Lime introduce a number of measures in NZ which it plans to roll out worldwide, including mandatory weekly checks even if a scooter registers no faults, and real-time performance reporting.

More probably, Lime has also created a dedicated safety team, and has its Generation 3 e-scooter due by the end of the year, which will offer better suspension, bigger wheels, a context-sensitive screen that can display messages to the rider and other features the company says will boost safety.

Auckland man Liam Thompson, 27, suffered a broken jaw after his Lime scooter locked up mid-ride.
More, Ting underlined that Lime is as annoyed as anyone else by Limes on the footpath or zipping between traffic on the road.

Lime chief executive and co-founder Toby Sun told the Herald that e-scooter riders should be in cycleways - where it's safer for themselves and removed from pedestrians.

There are two immediate barriers to that solution.

E-scooter claims October 14, 2018 to May 10, 2019. Source / ACC.
One, it's currently illegal to ride an e-scooter in a cycle lane, even if Auckland Transport is turning a blind eye at present. That should be overcome. Transport Minister Phil Twyford has said he's open for a law change, which can be expected around the time the second phase of the e-scooter trial happens in October.

Scooter claims, October 14, 2018 to May 10, 2019. Source / ACC.
Two, there just aren't that many cycleways. Here, Lime says it's open to Auckland councillor and planning committee chairman Chris Darby's idea for a per-ride levy if the money goes toward new or upgraded cycleways.

Sun was also open to a 15km e-scooter speed limit in high-density areas. (A Lime can hit 25km/h on the flat or up to 40km/h downhill).

On May 14, Auckland Council backed the idea, releasing a revised code-of-practice to cover phase two of its scooter trial that encourages operators to enforce a 15km/h speed limit in the following areas:

• Takapuna
• Devonport
• Ponsonby Rd
• Jervois Road (College Hill to Curran St)
• Karangahape Rd
• CBD including Queen St and waterfront area
• Auckland City Hospital precinct
• Parnell (including the Blind Foundation precinct)
• Newmarket
• Mission Bay
• Kohimarama
• St Heliers

Wave has already added "geo-fencing" technology to slow its e-scooters in restricted areas. Lime has it in the works.

And if you want to further improve your odds, Lime is giving away free helmets (which are recommended but not legally required) as part of a $3 million safety programme. To claim one, email Lime or contact them through their app.

Phase two of the Auckland e-scooter trial will wrap up on October 31, after which the council and Auckland Transport will confer on granting any of the contenders a permanent licence.

If e-scooters do get the green light, the focus will shift to operators' conditions on trading.

Lime's Asia-Pacific government affairs manager, Mitchell Price, has been vocal in his opinion that, like Uber with cars, Lime should have no restriction on the number of e-scooters it can put on Auckland streets.

Sun has indicated his company would like to see up to 10,000 Limes around the city. If that day does dawn, we'll revisit ACC's stats.

 

[glockman]

Sensationalist headlines make for good clickbait but in reality the injuries caused by scooters is minuscule compared to the cost of accidents caused by bikes, non electric scooters and sports injuries.

Take rugby for example claims are a whopping $70 MILLION a year but the kiwis are not about to ban rugby.

E-scooters can be fast and convenient, but they are not without risk. Is it time for New Zealand to put the brakes on? Brittney Deguara reports.

Walking, skateboarding and cycling is old news. E-scooters are dominating New Zealand streets.

From international brands - American-based Lime, Uber-owned Jump, Australian Wave, and Singaporean Beam - to local start ups such as Flamingo, hundreds of motorised scooters can be seen zipping around the country's major cities. But are they safe?

On Monday, a 58-year-old man who had been riding a Lime e-scooter in cental Auckland died. Exactly what happened is still being investigated, but police said it was not believed to be suspicious.


READ MORE:
* How NZ's e-scooter options compare
* Man dies in Auckland e-scooter incident
* ACC pays out $740,000 for e-scooter-related injuries in five months
* Electric scooter company Lime tackles safety concerns with helmet giveaway
* E-scooter regulations 'pretty vague': AA backs push for 10kmh speed limit

Since their debut in New Zealand, e-scooter related incidents have cost the country $2.7 million.


Over eight months - from October 2018 to May 2019 - ACC received a total of 2446 claims - or around 10 claims a day.




However, e-scooter claims are "very low in comparison with other activities, such as major sports, or accidents around the home," an ACC spokesperson said.

For example, ACC paid out $76 million across the whole of 2018 on 40,000 new or existing cycling and mountain biking injuries (on and off-road).

Auckland saw the highest claim rate with 1111 e-scooter claims between October 2018 and May 2019, followed by Canterbury and Otago with 686 and 265 claims, respectively.

The majority of accidents reported to ACC were due to a loss of balance or control. Injuries to knees, hands, wrists, arms, ankles, face and head were most common.

One man was admitted to hospital in December with a serious head injury after falling off an e-scooter in the Hutt Valley, the same day Lime launched in the region.

These injury patterns are similar around the world. A recent study - published in the American Journal of Otolaryngology - analysed 990 e-scooter related injuries and identified closed head injuries and lacerations to be most common.




WHY ARE THESE INJURIES HAPPENING?

There have been a number of issues highlighted with the vehicles including a locking wheel glitch and high speeds - but the lack of helmets has caught particular attention.

The US study's authors found 66 per cent of patients were not wearing helmets when they were injured.

In New Zealand, helmet use on e-scooters isn't mandatory, though it is encouraged, according to the New Zealand Transport Agency's Road User Rule.

"The Road User Rule does not require e-scooter riders to wear a helmet, but the Transport Agency strongly recommends that helmets are worn for safety," an NZTA spokesperson said.

"The rule states that riders must ride in a careful and considerate manner, give way to pedestrians and mobility devices, not ride at a speed that is a hazard to other users and, if on the road, ride as far to the left as possible."

Yes, claims are low as compared to injuries sustained while skateboarding, cycling etc. Give it time and it will become the number one cause for claims. Unless regulators become smarter by imposing strict laws on operating those devices. Or ban them!

 

[glockman]

The stats continue to look grisly.

There have been 2211 e-scooter accident claims since October 14, including 359 fractures or dislocations, 46 involving concussion and 44 dental injuries.


The worst accidents have required hospitalisation, such as 26-year-old Dunedin woman Renee Whitehouse, who suffered serious injuries including a fractured skull when her Lime tangled with a truck on January 18, and 27-year-old Auckland man Liam Thompson who broke his jaw after being thrown over his Lime's handlebars on February 9.

The Herald raised the cost of Lime scooter accidents to Lime's global head of operations and strategy, Wayne Ting, as the American visited Auckland during April amid lobbying over the second phase of the city's e-scooter trial.

Ting defended his company from several angles.

"One of the unfortunate challenges is that any sort of transportation hardware has inherent risks," he said. But he added that e-scooters are safer than other forms of transport.

Going by ACC stats supplied to the Herald, he's correct on that score.

Even allowing for the fact only half the population has access to e-scooters from rideshare companies, their ACC cost is dwarfed by claims for other modes of transport.

Related articles:

Ordinary scooters racked up 8131 claims between the week starting October 19 last year and May 10 - or four times as many as e-scooters.

And the total cost of scooter-related claims was $3m, or a third more than e-scooters.


ACC also supplied figures for bicycles, which were the source of 2106 new claims between October last year and April this year which, with other active cycling claims, cost the agency $17.1m for the period.

And cars were the cause of 12,627 new claims over the six months which, with active car claims, cost ACC a total $168.9m.

Although it's cold comfort to the likes of Thompson, with his broken jaw, the money ACC pays out for Lime change is chump change in the state insurer's greater scheme of things.

Motorcycle claims were still being compiled by ACC at press time - but the fact they're taking more than a week to compile hints at their size.

Ting also noted that while e-scooter ride-sharing operators have rapidly expanded to cover around half our population (they're in Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, the Hutt Valley and shortly Wellington), there's also been something of a personal e-scooter boom nationwide - just go into any cycling shop and try to buy an e-scooter for personal use and you'll probably find yourself on a waiting list.

Again, the figures suggest he has a point. ACC does not record how many claims in Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and the Hutt relate to Lime and smaller rival Wave.

But its figures do show that outside those areas, ACC clocked $423,000 in e-scooter claims, which would all have been for personally owned e-scooters - a not insubstantial sum.

Lime ambassadors in the Auckland CBD, who dispense safety tips as one of the rideshare operators new safety initiatives introduced in the New Year. Photo / Chris Keall.
Ting also addressed a firmware bug during February that Auckland Council said was responsible for 31 injuries - and which also coincided with Lime's worst three weeks for injuries. (The weekly injury count has since tailed off notably, despite more scooters being available.)

The operations manager aid the bug - which saw Limes pulled from Auckland and Dunedin streets for a week - has been sorted.

The episode also saw Lime introduce a number of measures in NZ which it plans to roll out worldwide, including mandatory weekly checks even if a scooter registers no faults, and real-time performance reporting.

More probably, Lime has also created a dedicated safety team, and has its Generation 3 e-scooter due by the end of the year, which will offer better suspension, bigger wheels, a context-sensitive screen that can display messages to the rider and other features the company says will boost safety.

Auckland man Liam Thompson, 27, suffered a broken jaw after his Lime scooter locked up mid-ride.
More, Ting underlined that Lime is as annoyed as anyone else by Limes on the footpath or zipping between traffic on the road.

Lime chief executive and co-founder Toby Sun told the Herald that e-scooter riders should be in cycleways - where it's safer for themselves and removed from pedestrians.

There are two immediate barriers to that solution.

E-scooter claims October 14, 2018 to May 10, 2019. Source / ACC.
One, it's currently illegal to ride an e-scooter in a cycle lane, even if Auckland Transport is turning a blind eye at present. That should be overcome. Transport Minister Phil Twyford has said he's open for a law change, which can be expected around the time the second phase of the e-scooter trial happens in October.

Scooter claims, October 14, 2018 to May 10, 2019. Source / ACC.
Two, there just aren't that many cycleways. Here, Lime says it's open to Auckland councillor and planning committee chairman Chris Darby's idea for a per-ride levy if the money goes toward new or upgraded cycleways.

Sun was also open to a 15km e-scooter speed limit in high-density areas. (A Lime can hit 25km/h on the flat or up to 40km/h downhill).

On May 14, Auckland Council backed the idea, releasing a revised code-of-practice to cover phase two of its scooter trial that encourages operators to enforce a 15km/h speed limit in the following areas:

• Takapuna
• Devonport
• Ponsonby Rd
• Jervois Road (College Hill to Curran St)
• Karangahape Rd
• CBD including Queen St and waterfront area
• Auckland City Hospital precinct
• Parnell (including the Blind Foundation precinct)
• Newmarket
• Mission Bay
• Kohimarama
• St Heliers

Wave has already added "geo-fencing" technology to slow its e-scooters in restricted areas. Lime has it in the works.

And if you want to further improve your odds, Lime is giving away free helmets (which are recommended but not legally required) as part of a $3 million safety programme. To claim one, email Lime or contact them through their app.

Phase two of the Auckland e-scooter trial will wrap up on October 31, after which the council and Auckland Transport will confer on granting any of the contenders a permanent licence.

If e-scooters do get the green light, the focus will shift to operators' conditions on trading.

Lime's Asia-Pacific government affairs manager, Mitchell Price, has been vocal in his opinion that, like Uber with cars, Lime should have no restriction on the number of e-scooters it can put on Auckland streets.

Sun has indicated his company would like to see up to 10,000 Limes around the city. If that day does dawn, we'll revisit ACC's stats.

Any motorised vehicle requires the operator to be proficient and responsible, so that the operator and everyone around him are safe. Thus far, there are enough accidents to show that this is not the case.

 

[Leongsam]

Any motorised vehicle requires the operator to be proficient and responsible, so that the operator and everyone around him are safe. Thus far, there are enough accidents to show that this is not the case.

Same applies to cars. The stats are horrific. There are definitely enough accidents to show that cars are lethal in the wrong hands and yet we continue to issue licenses to the incompetent and the irresponsible.