View the feedback we have received on the NTC Consultation RIS - Barriers to the safe use of personal mobility devices paper.
- Question 2: Is 60kg a suitable maximum weight for a PMD? If not, what is a more suitable weight and what other factors should be considered? Please provide a rationale to support your position.
Yes and No - you need to specify weights based on the scooter battery type. Example - There are brands of scooters that exclusively use lead iron batteries. As a consequence these are significantly heavier than any escooter with a Lithium Ion battery. Should the Lead-Iron ones be allowed anyway? As there is no real need for the excessive weight, and the heavier the scooter the more damage can be done to the rider / property / pedestrians in a crash.
- Question 3: Should children under the age of 16 years old continue to be permitted to use a motorised scooter incapable of travelling more than 10km/h on level ground on roads and paths? Or should they be able to use any device that complies with the proposed PMD framework? (see Appendix A). Please provide a rationale to support your position
Most Definitely not. Living and working in the city the number of children riding on lime scooters without helmets was more common than actually seeing someone with a helmet. Children do not appreciate safety, nor respect that the devices they are riding on can cause serious injury, death and disability. Popping the age up to 18 to ride an e-scooter to allow for additional maturity + adulthood so you are responsible for your own actions and their consiquences should be safer for the general public and potential child riders.
- Question 4: Do you agree with the criteria selected to assess the options? Are there any key impacts not covered by these criteria?
PMD's should be on roads, like bicycles as your generic Lime scooter - or any entry level scooter can easily keep up with / and over take bike riders. There is far too much traffic in the CBD to allow for safe driving of the scooter for anything above 5kmph (walking speed) due to pedestrian congestion, and pedestrians have a tendency to change directions without warning, or come to a complete stop without warning, or walk straight out of a coffee shop with a tray of coffee without looking left or right first on a very busy path. Why is NTC blindly and foolishly - and seemingly deliberately forcing escooters and pedestrians to share the footpath when they are in direct conflict? Scooters should be on the roads. Allow them to be there.
- Question 5: When considering the safety risk assessment, access and amenity impacts, broader economic impacts, as well as compliance and enforcement impacts; has the impact analysis sufficiently considered all relevant variables and available evidence? What other factors could be included in the analysis? Please provide any additional evidence. (See Appendix E - Impact Analysis
There has been 0 consideration or care from the general public about escooters. In fact there has been growing resentment from pedestrians towards scooter riders. To the point they will see you coming (riding in a straight line, at 13kmph) and move directly into your path so unless you (the scooter rider) comes to a complete stop there will be a collision, which the pedestrian has deliberately put into play by moving into your path as they are fully aware that they have right of way. There is no pedestrian education / reminders that their footpaths are shared with PMD's. The situation feels like bike riders vs cars on roads, there's hate from both sides there but the problem is happily ignored while it's "us vs them" as it means bodies such as yourselves (NTC) don't have to take any action to remedy the situation.
- Question 6: What do you believe is the most appropriate road infrastructure for PMDs to access: footpaths, separated paths, bicycle paths and/or roads? Please provide a rationale to support your position
Bicycle Paths & Roads. Pedestrians are too unpredictable (stop suddenly, change direction suddenly, blindly walk out of a shop without looking left or right directly into a scooter riders path which has happened to me...) The footpaths are not maintained well enough to guarantee safety, uplifted bricks, potholes in the footpath will cause a scooter rider to "stack it" and most liklely end up in hospital. There are much less of these on the roads in the CBD in compared to
- Question 7: What is an appropriate and safe maximum speed that PMDs should be permitted to travel across the various infrastructure: (a) pedestrian areas, (b) bicycle areas, and (c) roads? Please provide a rationale to support your position
A) 15kmph - Jogging speed. B) 25kmph - Average bike speed. C) TO CONDITIONS. Doesn't matter if the speed limit is 40 and your scooter can technically go 40, you ride to make sure your safe. I don't know how else you'd stay that politically but im sure you understand exactly what i mean.
- Question 8: Do you agree with the overall assessment that Option 3, Speed Approach 1 is the option that best balances mobility and safety? If not, which option and speed approach do you prefer? Please provide a rationale to support your positio
No. Humans average 5kmph when walking. and 13kmph jogging. If people can jog faster than you're allowed to ride an escooter that completely nullifies the point of using one. Also please keep in mind the general public such as myself think that the speed limits and other laws / rules relating to escooters are a joke because to date.... there's been what... two stints of police action enforcing NO HELMETS - targeting rideshare scooters exclusively. To the point its a massive joke, for every person riding a scooter 10 will not wear helmets, 1 will. You're making another law that you're never going to enforce - and again it is very very silly if people can jog faster than an escooter on the same path. If the speed limit is for public safety, why are people allowed to jog at an even faster speed?