rsa supporting e-scooters

tomasrojo

Anyone post this? They seem to have a low collision rate per distance travelled. Not clear from the article whether they looked at simple falls in that (no other vehicles involved).

https://road.cc/content/news/rospa-e-scooters-five-times-safer-riders-bicycles-292339

tomasrojo

Also collisions with pedestrians not that common

magicbastarder

must dig out a link to the report, that does run counter to what i'd have expected.

maybe being able to step off a scooter in a way you can't simply step off a bike when you know things are about to go wrong, could be a factor?

tomasrojo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118997036#Comment_118997036

Yeah, might be. I'd assume they have more simple falls, with more broken clavicles, and more wrist, shin and ankle injuries (think there were some data supporting this), but that's not the same as collisions.

Anyway, if they're overall safer than a bike (which is already very acceptably safe for me), a lot of arguments about them seem misplaced. They do need to be made more repairable though.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118996639#Comment_118996639

Wait till they hear about drivers.

inigo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118997036#Comment_118997036

Could it also be due to the fact that bicycles can go considerably faster than unmodified speed-limited scooters?

And scooters are smaller than bicycles too when you're trying to avoid a person or object.

tomasrojo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118997290#Comment_118997290

Sports cyclists probably bring up the collision rate a bit, so might look different in NL, where sports cyclists are a lower proportion of the total. Suspect it's not that large an effect though.

AndrewJRenko

https://twitter.com/dermotryanie/status/1520356799412641793?s=21&t=TgpmgkPgWfWQl2HyN0br1A

tooka

Most of these things are ridden on the footpaths and as long as pedestrians get out of the way there will be little accidents or deaths

but just like clonmel a few years ago when an elderly chap was knocked down and killed by a cyclist , bad things will happen when there are no punishment for dangerous driving for all road and foot path users

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118997565#Comment_118997565

Just to keep things in context, there have been two deaths of pedestrians by cyclists since the turn of the century here, that one outside Clonmel and one in Dublin city centre near Merrion Row, around 2002 I think. There have been no news reports of what happened in the case you mention afaik, no Coroner's Inquest report or similar, so I wouldn't go jumping to conclusions as to who did what.

More people have been killed by bees here than by cyclists.

zell12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118997565#Comment_118997565

eh? Pedestrians belong on the footpaths, it's e-scooters that are the violator

tomasrojo

Simple falls were 6% of the incidents in their dataset by the way. I had a quick look.

magicbastarder

"It also discovered that almost all reported incidents involving e-scooters happened in local authority areas where no rental scheme was in operation, which RosPA said underlined how safe such schemes were proven to be, in part due to the safety checks and regular maintenance and servicing carried out by operators."

that's an interesting comment, which - if taken at face value - would suggest that mechanical failure is a very significant factor?

nomdeboardie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118997565#Comment_118997565

"as long as pedestrians get out of the way"

*Not sure if serious 🤔😂*

ED E

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118997879#Comment_118997879

Probably cherry picking to suit themselves but there is another difference - privately owned ones aren't necessarily capped. Big difference between 19kph and 50.

Squidgy Black

Seen there that apparently the Queens speech specifically mentioned e-scooters being legalised or regulated as part of a new Transport Bill, would imagine it could be the kick in the arse that our government needs in terms of adopting the law changes

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119047736#Comment_119047736

We got rid of the monarchy in 1949, or arguably 1937...

Squidgy Black

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119050889#Comment_119050889

Well yeah of course, but it’s more there’s an apparent delay in the changes here due to law changes, and we generally follow UK precedence for a lot of cases etc.

Listendernow

I wish they would hurry up and get a move on with this. I was out for a walk in the sunny weather there today and some lad rocketed past me on a fiido bike. I'm pretty sure it was going 30 - 40km/h, I looked up the model and they do sell them. After having a think about it, I was a little shocked at first but you know, I'd way rather see some chap on a little bike like that which 99% of the time is going to be going at very non-lethal speeds and can only occasionally just push up to 30 or 40 than he use a car. Some asshole local was tearing up the road in some extremely loud modded golf and I dunno. I just see the utility. I wish they would make it possible for it to be legal to go up to say, 50km/h in them if you did a little test. That seems like it would be far more useful than the currently allowed 25km.

Varik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119062069#Comment_119062069

The AM license for smaller mopeds (50cc or 4kW) is limited to 45km/h. Might see more people move onto electric mopeds for longer urban journeys.

For that it's not just a driving test anymore you've to do your theory test first and then a few hundred euro to complete a course to even get onto the road

Listendernow

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119064557#Comment_119064557

I've always thought about doing the whole moped license and IBT, but I've read one too many stories about them being less safe than something with 500 or 600cc's in it due to how many options you have to escape a bad situation. An Ebike is a little different in that it can use cycle paths and occasional a footpath if you're need to cross a road or something, can't really do that on a moped although I kind of wish you could in a way.

Jonesy101

scooter helmets vs bike helmets was closed after about 5 comments as this isnt the scooter page and yet this is allowed and 100s of comments long? why?

is_that_so

As a matter of curiosity how many of these are estimated to be on the roads? My own anecdotal evidence shows little more than a handful in comparison with the likes of bikes. Surely that number will shoot up when they get to legislation next year.

Varik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119069258#Comment_119069258

Spend my time in Limerick, Kerry, and Tipp for reference. The only bikes I see generally are at weekends usually in groups out on country roads but it's not that common (I'd see a sulky more often than a group of cyclists), I see next to none during the week during my long commute but I see loads of scooters in the towns as I pass throughout the week and in groups during the weekend.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119069234#Comment_119069234

that was more about helmets and there's a dedicated megathread for the helmet debate.

Macy0161

Also, the legislation that this thread is effectively discussing is for ppt, which includes non-pedelec ebikes.

Varik

Seeing they're planning to allow for higher power e bikes to a new category below the current lower L1e (mopeds) or added them to the L1e, they'd need insurance, tax, AM license, and probably a license plate & helmet too.

https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2022-05-31/154/?highlight%5B0%5D=scooters

Squidgy Black

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119145613#Comment_119145613

Sounds great in principle but I’d imagine trying to get the insurance will be the big hurdle.

Kaisr Sose

I was passed by something close to a UFO last night close to midnight. . It was two wheeled and electric. Silent and stealthy. It was easily going 80kmph up the road. The 'pilot' had no lights lit and there was no reg on it. No way whatever it was is legal, or even shouid be legal on a road without tax, insurance and driving licence.

Totally stunned at the speed. Oh to have been a garda patrol but I doubt they could catch it if it failed to stop. At least it was not in the cycle lane.

Varik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119145665#Comment_119145665

Moped insurances isn't too bad, these new bikes would be far lighter less powerful mopeds (<4kw).