Tougher e-scooter rules possible after global safety trial comes to Darwin

Darwin has been the testing ground for a world-first ‘e-scooter brain’ technology, with changes to rider rules on the cards. Here’s what could change.

Darwin has been the testing ground for a “major global trial” for one of the most hotly-contested technologies today.

E-scooter company Neuron could soon make a suite of changes to its international fleet after a first-of-its-kind “e-scooter brain” trial in the Top End.

Darwin was chosen as one of four places in the world to try out the new technology.

A new pool of scooters has been operating with sensors to detect a range of dangerous rider behaviour including aggressive swerving, skidding, kerb jumping, tandem riding and sidewalk riding.

The technology can also counteract and correct bad habits in real-time, while Neuron has been profiling users to “educate, correct and incentivise” good behaviour.

Riders in Brisbane, Canada’s capital Ottawa, and Slough on London’s outskirts, have been the other guinea pigs for the “revolutionary” features.

Local comedian Amy Hetherington is an official Neuron safety ambassador. Picture: Supplied

“Neuron considers Darwin as the company’s ‘Australian Innovation Hub’,” a company spokeswoman said.

“Darwin also has an extremely receptive rider base who are often the first to test out new technology.

“(It) was the second city in Australia to launch 250 of Neuron’s distinctive orange e-scooters in January 2020.

“In less than one year, Darwin became the first city in Australia to launch Neuron e-bikes, supporting longer commutes.

“Since the start of the trial, riders in Darwin have taken close to 2.5 million trips and travelled nearly 3.5 million kilometres on Neuron devices.

“The trial’s findings … will determine how selected features will be rolled out across Neuron’s fleet internationally.”

The notorious Knuckey St and Smith St corner in Darwin's CBD has claimed multiple victims as e-scooter riders continue to fail to negotiate the kerb. Picture: Che Chorley

Neuron’s rider safety trial comes amid calls for greater e-scooter controls.

Charles Darwin University lecturer Ciprian Radavoi said Darwin streets have become the new “wild west” with footpath pedestrians at risk of serious injury.

“Allowing a piece of metal weighing tens of kilograms (and which could extend to 100 kgs or more, including the weight of the user) to run at 25km/h through pedestrians and wheelchair-bound individuals is stretching the definition of pedestrian beyond logic and common sense,” he wrote.

A major NT Health investigation into the toll of e-scooters is also under way.

It was launched after Royal Darwin and Palmerston Hospital health officials estimated there were on average two hospitalisations in Darwin per 100,000km travelled by users.

The Queensland government is also making a suite of changes to its e-scooter laws, with speed limits to be halved to 12km/h on some footpaths from November.

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Originally published as Tougher e-scooter rules possible after global safety trial comes to Darwin