E-scooter rider banned after ‘dangerous’ peak hour stunt

Stunning footage has emerged of an e-scooter rider cruising along with peak hour traffic in a “dangerous” stunt.

A man has stunned commuters in peak hour traffic.

The rogue e-scooter rider filmed cruising in peak hour traffic in Melbourne has been hit with a major punishment for his “dangerous” stunt.

On Monday at about 9:30am, commuters travelling inbound on the West Gate Freeway in Melbourne were stunned to see a man riding an e-scooter joining them on the ride to work.

One driver filmed the rider, in footage obtained by Channel 7, cruising the orange scooter – later confirmed as a rental device from government partner Neuron – beside a cement divider on the busy freeway.

He is not wearing the helmet provided with the bike, instead leaving that hanging on the scooter’s handle bar, and wearing AirPods.

The video was shared to Facebook, where it has split commenters for and against the strange stunt.

Some praised the rider’s clever thinking, saying the e-scooter was one way to beat “congestion levies, tolls, fuel costs, registration fees and traffic to the office”.

However the majority were incensed by the rider not wearing a helmet.

It is understood the e-scooter was one of the fleet of Neuron scooters deployed as part of the Victorian government’s 12 month trial with it and competing e-bike and e-scooter brand, Lime.

The Andrews Labor Government announced at the end of March the trial would be extended for another six months “under strict conditions to ensure the safety of riders drivers and all road users”.

The extension begins on April 5 and will now include the use of private e-scooters.

Under the extension, riders must wear a helmet and be at least 16 years of age to ride an e-scooter, and adhere to blood alcohol content and drug use rules as drivers.

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E-scooter riders are allowed to use roads and marked bike lanes. Picture: Jason Edwards

E-scooters can be ridden on roads, bicycle lanes, or bicycle paths or separated, shared paths, but not footpaths. Lime and Neuron scooters have geofencing technology to stop riders from entering “no ride zones”, such as parks or private property and major roads, representatives for the companies confirmed.

A Neuron spokesman, who confirmed the e-scooter captured in the video was one of their fleet, said the company has made adjustments to this technology in the wake of this incident.

“We have geofences in place on all main entry and exit points of the West Gate Freeway, however as a result of this incident we have further refined them to reduce access to the very small number of rogue riders who are determined to break the rules,” the spokesman said in a statement to news.com.au.

“All of our e-scooters are GPS-connected and every trip is logged which helps identify anyone behaving irresponsibly. This particular rider has since been banned permanently from the service.”

The spokesman said the company takes “riding compliance very seriously” and that users must “agree” to Neuron’s riding rules before unlocking devices and, when on the bike, abide by Victoria’s road and bike safety rules.

A man has stunned commuters in peak hour traffic. Picture: 7News/Channel 7

A man has stunned commuters in peak hour traffic. Picture: 7News/Channel 7

“In Melbourne, e-scooters can only be ridden on bicycle lanes, shared paths, and low-speed roads. Helmet use is mandatory in Australia and there is one provided on every Neuron e-scooter, there is no excuse not to wear one,” the spokesman said.

“The vast majority of our users ride and park responsibly. While we can’t eliminate riders from breaking the rules entirely we continue to introduce measures to improve behaviour as much as possible.”

Pay-to-ride e-scooters’ speeds are also capped at 20km/h, and are only allowed on roads with a speed limit less than 50km/h, according to Victorian Police.

Police also forbid privately owned scooters from riding on public roads.

Between 1 December 2021 and 28 February 2023, there have been 1069 e-scooter infringements issued across Victoria, a Victoria Police spokesman told news.com.au

Many of the infringements are for failure to wear a helmet ($327), riding e-scooters on a footpath ($303) and carrying more than one person on an e-scooter ($162).

Between 1 December 2021 and 28 February 2023, there have been 324 collisions involving e-scooters, and 16 impoundments of privately-owned e-scooters.

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