After the tragic death of 46-year-old man Kim Rowe, the safety of electric scooters has aroused widespread concern in Western Australia. Many motor vehicle drivers have shared the dangerous electric scooter riding behavior they have photographed.
For example, last week, some netizens photographed on the Great Eastern Highway, two people riding electric scooters driving behind a large truck at high speed, which is very dangerous.
On Sunday, someone without a helmet was photographed riding an electric scooter at an intersection in Kingsley, north of the city, ignoring red lights and flashing by.
In fact, figures show there has been a surge in accidents involving electric scooters since they became legal on Western Australia’s roads late last year.
WA Police said they had responded to more than 250 incidents involving e-scooters since January 1 this year, or an average of 14 incidents per week.
To avoid more accidents, City of Stirling MP Felicity Farrelly said today that a curfew will soon be imposed on 250 shared electric scooters in the area.
“Riding an e-scooter from 10pm to 5am can lead to increased uncivilized activity at night, with negative impacts on the health, safety and wellbeing of surrounding residents,” Farrelly said.
It is reported that these shared electric scooters are currently mainly distributed in Watermans Bay, Scarborough, Trigg, Karrinyup and Innaloo.
According to the regulations, people in Western Australia can ride electric scooters at a speed of up to 25 kilometers per hour on bicycle lanes and shared roads, but only 10 kilometers per hour on sidewalks.
Mayor of the City of Stirling, Mark Irwin, said that since the e-scooter trial began, the results have been very good, with most riders obeying the rules and few accidents.
However, the rest of Western Australia has not yet allowed shared electric scooters to settle in. The two previous accidents that resulted in the death of riders were not shared electric scooters.
It is understood that some individuals use illegal technical means to increase the power of electric scooters, and even make them reach a maximum speed of 100 kilometers per hour. Such scooters will be confiscated after they are discovered by the police.
Here, we also remind everyone that if you ride an electric scooter, remember to obey the traffic rules, take personal protection, do not drink and drive, do not use mobile phones while driving, turn on the lights when driving at night, and pay attention to traffic safety.