Tunnel Vision on E-Scooters?
With the sudden arrival of E-Scooters in NZ I'm wondering if the regulators have painted themselves into a corner?
The NZTA permits E-Scooters 'On the road, ... must be operated as near as practicable to the edge of the roadway.' Cycles and pedestrians (sensibly) have to use this tunnel walkway, but E-scooter Jockeys (gonna TM that name!) are free to travel at 27km/h through the tunnels (and maybe even motorways?) . In the case of Mount Vic. Tunnel I guess that they need to toot their horns as they go through.
Just to further confuse the situation, E-scooters are not permitted in designated cycle lanes that are part of the road. Being a cyclist and an occasional E-scooter Jockey, this approach baffles me; an E-scooter is as fast as a cycle, the same size and height as a cycle - so why not call it a cycle (or e-bike) and make it comply to all the same Road Rules? This approach would address all the safety issues that have been flagged. #limescooters #nzta
Senior Engineer Fire & Life SafetySystems
5moPerforming a thorough risk evaluation, including fire modelling, is essential for the primary bore adjacent to the lateral bore. The UK is facing similar obstacles. It's like opening another can of worms.
Senior Associate - Mechanical Engineering and Team Lead (CPEng) at Beca
6yI think they should be subject to the same rules as e-bikes, one rung below mopeds. They are similar being an electric assisted human powered device with less than 300W to motor and capable of similar speeds. To ride on the footpath I think their speed needs to be limited for safety. Being a powered device above a bicycle, they should have brakes on both wheels.
Director, Principal Transportation Engineer and Transport Planner at ViaStrada Ltd
6yInteresting loophole it would appear regarding the "No Cycles/Pedestrians" signs; I have always mentally included wheeled recreational devices and mobility scooters in my definition of a "pedestrian" for industry training purposes, but they are considered separate entities in legislation, and thus seem to slip through a couple of cracks (must be the small wheels...). That was probably less of an issue 14 years when much of our current Road User Rules were drafted (and e-anythings were barely thought of), but is becoming more pertinent now; hence the NZTA research last year we did looking into the various regulations for these 'sub-car' devices: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/research/reports/621/
Business Consultant
6yMakes sense
BECA - Principal & Global Structures Workshare Manager, Fellow of EngNZ, MINSTD
6yThere are electric scooters available that are designed for higher speeds with broader wheels and longer bases. I have ridden those and the line type scooters. Not an expert but I reckon they each have a place - u can be on a footpath as long as the speed of scooter is restricted so that you can use your legs as backup brakes.