By Cara Waters
Police issued almost 300 infringements in a two-day crackdown on Melbourne e-scooter riders, denting rental operators’ claims about the safe behaviour of their customers and giving fresh ammunition to critics who want tighter controls.
Most of the infringements were issued to e-scooter riders not wearing helmets ($240) or riding on the footpath ($192).
An e-scooter rider weaves through pedestrians on the Evan Walker Bridge in Southbank on Thursday.Credit: Penny Stephens
Under the Victorian government’s trial, e-scooters can be ridden only on shared paths and roads with a speed limit of up to 60km/h.
Road policing assistant commissioner Glenn Weir said many Victorians were concerned about the risks e-scooters posed, particularly in built-up areas, including the CBD.
Weir said police were going to prioritise enforcement of e-scooter rules.
“While the majority of people do use e-scooters responsibly, unfortunately we’re seeing too many riders continue to disregard the rules,” he said.
“The time for leniency is over – the e-scooter rules under the government trial have been in effect for some time now, so there is no excuse for not knowing what you can and can’t do.”
Across the two-day blitz, on May 17 and 22, 137 infringements were issued for failing to wear an approved helmet on an e-scooter; 73 for riding an e-scooter on a footpath; 29 for failing to wear an approved helmet on a bike or e-bike; 12 for failing to obey a red traffic light; and three for carrying another person on an e-scooter.
Police also issued five infringements of $962 for being unregistered. E-scooters capable of speeds over 25km/h are classified as unregistered motor vehicles and can only be ridden on private property in Victoria.
One infringement was issued to an e-scooter rider who refused a preliminary oral fluid test. They will be charged and summonsed to court.
Police said e-scooter riders who exceeded the .05 blood-alcohol limit or were caught riding under the influence of drugs were liable for the same drink and drug-driving penalties as other motorists.
Since rental e-scooters became legal under the pilot program two years ago, there has been a steep rise in crash injuries reported in Melbourne. Nearly 1000 riders turned up at Victorian emergency departments with crash injuries last year, according to data released in February – almost double the e-scooter injuries the previous year.
Ben Rossiter, chief executive of Victoria Walks, which promotes walkable communities, said the number of infringements issued by police in the crackdown was shocking, but the advocacy group was not surprised.
“It just goes to show what a drop in the ocean the illegal behaviour is,” he said.
“Our primary concern is footpaths. We see footpath riding constantly, even adjacent to separated bike lanes in the city. The footpath riding is particularly dangerous for elderly people, disabled people and families with kids.”
Rossiter said he would like to see more enforcement campaigns from police and called on the government to provide dedicated on-road parking for scooters.
“One of the key things we want is to ban footpath parking because this means every trip is starting and ending with illegal behaviour,” he said.
Last month the government extended Victoria’s e-scooter trial until October and said it would introduce permanent regulations at the end of the year.
A spokesman for the state government declined to comment on whether it would consider abolishing parking on footpaths for e-scooters.
“We’ve announced e-scooters are here to stay, giving e-scooter operators and the public certainty, but we have more work to do on safety and compliance to ensure they’re safe when they’re made permanent later this year,” he said.
“It is everyone’s responsibility to look out for others and share the roads safely – particularly with cyclists and e-vehicles, who we know are some of our most vulnerable road users.”
The number of infringements stands in contrast to data collected by e-scooter rental giant Lime, which found its customers were spending less time riding on footpaths, with two-thirds of e-scooter riders on Melbourne’s footpaths for less than 30 seconds per trip.
An e-scooter rider on Southbank Promenade on Thursday.Credit: Penny Stephens
Will Peters, director of government relations for Australia and New Zealand at Lime, said the highest-incidence areas of footpath riding were at the start and end of trips, and where bike paths were not provided.
“Lime has no tolerance for illegal behaviour and fully supports Victoria Police in prosecuting anyone riding illegally,” he said.
“When Lime detects illegal behaviour, warnings and fines are issued. In repeated or severe cases riders are banned.”
Credit: Matt Golding
A spokesman for Neuron said riders had travelled more than 8 million kilometres on its e-scooters.
“The overwhelming majority of people ride responsibly, with over 99.99 per cent of trips ending safely and without incident,” he said.
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