New E scooter laws

Leg End Reject

I regularly see a parent bringing a young child to school on one, the child standing in front clinging on to the handle bars and ne'er a helmet between them. And wtf were a 15 and 17 year old doing on one at 2.10 am this morning?

An outright ban is needed.

magicbastarder

the second teenager in waterford has died.

Leg End Reject

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122311268#Comment_122311268

I saw that earlier, what a tragic loss of life.

JP Liz V1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122311264#Comment_122311264

I completely agree

wassie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122311264#Comment_122311264

Yeah seen that too. Never mind the helmet, if you hit a bump nothing to stop a child smashing their face into the handlbars or neck of the steering post that could leave very nasty injuries or scars.

Leg End Reject

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122311304#Comment_122311304

Or fall out onto the road.

Thargor

They showed the bus on the news, the windscreen was completely smashed 6-8ft of the ground, it must have been a horrific impact.

StevenToast

I despise e-scooters...

100% ban required....

They are an absolute menace...

silverharp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122312543#Comment_122312543

Thats a bit extreme , My own experience is that they are a positive , my son gets around from A to B very efficiently whereas I find e bikes more of a menace

micar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122312543#Comment_122312543

"despise" and "menace" are very strong words.

I've never had a bad encounter with them.

Like cyclists…..i give them plenty of space and hold back just in case they do something stupid.

I encounter more wreakless drivers each day over e-scooterist/cyclist

Calahonda52

The loss of life is a tragedy,

this stuff does not help

"A lot of people, they're all friends, everybody knows each other. A tragedy like this, although it can bring communities together, it also raises questions around safety of the entire scooter industry and the way scooters are regulated or perhaps even the lack of regulation and I think it's going to have to be looked at by Government and by the transport authorities, how better to police scooters and how to ensure that they're driven or operated in a safe manner."

The regs are already there for not having two up, where is personal responsibility.

From an earlier post

my son gets around from A to B very effervescently: is this a new mode

SharkMX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122311304#Comment_122311304

I think it would be worse than that if a parent fell on a child at school.

A guy in my class was getting a cross bar home from school. They crashed and the person on the bar went face first nto the ground and the person on the saddle landed on top of them. They didnt stop for a few feet, while the persons face was on the ground with the weight of another lad on top of it. His nose and all the skin on his face was scoured off as it dragged on the tarmac with all the weight on the back of his head. He never came back to school again.

Never have a child where you can land on top of them in an accident.

silverharp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122312775#Comment_122312775

cofefe, my spell check must have a vivid imagination though I looked it up and it kind of fits, not a bit sure if you agree with the point either way or not

walshb

What an awful loss life yesterday. 15 and 17 on same escooter at 02:00 in morning.

Separately: I see so many on these escooters and no helmets and no lights and no bright clothing.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122312538#Comment_122312538

walked passed it yesterday morning, pretty scary scene, they must have been flipped upwards towards the windscreen

Patches oHoulihan

They are motor vehicles that go too fast. THem and Ebikes.

Drivers of these should have tax, insurance and proper protective clothing.

They are a menace

Henry Ford III

I'm in two minds about e scooters.

The laws aren't being enforced so they are a waste of time. Some of the riders are crazy.

For others they are good economical and handy transport.

Hotblack Desiato

The problem isn't so much the scooters but (some) riders. Although allowing completely unregulated, non speed limited ones into the country for years was really not a smart idea. Along with the ones with seats which are just illegal motorcycles.

At least they've destroyed the market for illegal clip-on petrol engines for bicycles…

castletownman

To me they are this decade's version of scramblers, with irresponsible parents allowing their kids to have them and be damned about safety and common sense.

silverharp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122315279#Comment_122315279

I dont see it , they dont have street cred like some high octane "scrambler" they are simply a way of getting from A to B especially at anti social times

JVince

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122312543#Comment_122312543

I'd disagree, but if the regulations are not enforced you will see many more tragic deaths.

Anyone not wearing a helmet or carrying a passenger should have the escooter taken off them and "impounded". Released on payment of a fine and signing a declaration that you understand that helmets have to be worn and no passengers can be carried.

If people know that they have a high chance of being caught, they'll change behaviour.

Economics101

It's not just a matter of e-scooters. In Waterford, a 15 year old and a 17 year old were out on a main road unsupervised in the early hours of the morning. Maybe the total lack of parental control or responsibility is the main underlying issue here.

Be right back

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/they-were-just-children-two-teens-who-died-in-e-scooter-crash-in-waterford-named-locally/a1233544877.html

silverharp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122315343#Comment_122315343

or even basic things like lights working? mostly scooters have better lights than a road bike and are quite bright , but not working/bad design and typical youth gear of basically wearing all black or dark colours /bad luck and you get a deadly set of circumstances

kowloon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122315279#Comment_122315279

At least scramblers have a seat. Scooters have a high centre of gravity with someone standing upright on them. They can't brake like a motorcycle or even a bicycle.

Tippbhoy1

A guy spun past me on the footpath at the weekend on one of these, one of the ones with a seat. The most startling part was he had a child that couldn’t have been more than 18 months old on his knee, holding on to the child with one arm and navigating along the footpath with the other arm.

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122315616#Comment_122315616

What he was doing, was in a number of ways, illegal. However, no more than the rest of our road traffic laws, we don't have anyone who is really interested in enforcing them!

JP Liz V1

A 14 year old dead

https://www.rte.ie/news/2024/0728/1462245-kilkenny-crash/

Oscar_Madison

I’ve seen too many people on scooters without helmets - completely daft. Just wondering are we going to see the start of annual scooter death statistics?
I wouldn’t be in favour of a ban- they’re a great and cheap form of getting around-we’re stuck with them but I would like to see more education for users in place - establish maybe certain good behaviours and advertise these in short tv adverts .

Hotblack Desiato

Nobody pays a blind bit of notice to RSA advertising as it is. Teenagers think they're immortal. What matters is enforcement and that's practically non-existent.

scottser

Saw a young lad come off a kerb and onto his snot on the road there over the weekend. On his phone at the time. He was absolutely blessed not to have been killed.

They should really be licenced.

silliussoddius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122440174#Comment_122440174

Children or the scooters?

Potential-Monke

Maybe if there were licences required to have children, we wouldn't need to dicuss needing licences for scooters...

Deebles McBeebles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122440174#Comment_122440174

That's hilarious, to be fair.

scottser

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122440830#Comment_122440830

I will admit to a wee smirk but he fell on to a main road and by rights, he should have been creamed by a passing car.

Marcusm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122315616#Comment_122315616

so three offences and no prospect of enforcement; on pavement, a seat and an additional passenger.

A recent German study showed 12% traumatic brain injury in A&E presentations from e-scooter riders. That’s very high. Tiny wheels, uneven surfaces/potholes and proximity to kerbs make this all the more credible/likely in Ireland.

any parent giving these to a young child is either extremely foolish or brain dead.

applehunter

I want them banned.

A **** menace.

As usual it takes people to die for this to be implemented.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122443002#Comment_122443002

A recent German study showed 12% traumatic brain injury in A&E presentations from e-scooter riders.

Do you have a link to that? On its own, the 12% stat doesn't tell much. And 'traumatic brain injury' covers a whole range of severity. 'i hit my head and feel dizzy' can be classed as traumatic brain injury, or certainly would be treated as potentially so in hospital.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122443486#Comment_122443486

I wonder what % of head injuries are from car accidents. Or how many of those scooter accidents are with cars.

"..All the accidents we’ve seen so far in Germany have been related to accidents with cars," he said.

"I also find it quite surprising that a car runs over a scooter rider then we call for stronger regulation of scooters. The actual problem is too much car traffic and too many private vehicles in the city."

Ireland needs to fix its woeful record on enforcement.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122443077#Comment_122443077

as above, you want cars or scooters banned?

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122443559#Comment_122443559

Enforcing what?

All e-scooters were illegal until very recently, and a good proportion of those in use still are, but next to nothing was done. There's a lot of very reckless riding going on, riding scooters on footpaths, against traffic lights and flying into junctions with not the slightest hope of being able to stop.

silverharp

its another reason to stay out of skanger areas , you cant trust shared spaces now like along the Grand Canal , too many higher speed e bikes and scooters, its ok if you are facing against them but can see people simply walking be killed at some point or being victims of crime

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122443920#Comment_122443920

What???

silverharp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122443944#Comment_122443944

what what?

Agent Coulson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122440174#Comment_122440174

I've seen that happen a good few times and I've had a smile on face after it everytime.

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122443945#Comment_122443945

How are people more at risk of crime from escooters or ebikes?
(The higher speed ones aren't escooters or ebikes FWIW!)

Flinty997

He means they are used for crime. Like cars in high speed chases or getaway cars. At some point someone is going to be killed by a car or victim of crime where a catris used...

...oh wait...

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122443974#Comment_122443974

I'd imagine that an escooter is a very efficient way to escape from the scene of a crime you just committed. Snatch a phone or a handbag from a pedestrian and zip off into the distance. A bike would be a little slower to get on and off and get started moving again. And when someone is standing on the escooter, they are in a better position maybe to even grab something without stopping

There apparently used to be a plague of robberies from lads on mopeds over in London ….. and the numbers of theft incidents declined considerably once the policy policy there changed from being forbidden to chase them, to training the police to knock them off their getaway mopeds "safely".

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/nov/23/met-police-say-tough-tactics-have-reduced-violent-moped

silverharp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122443974#Comment_122443974

take the GC past the Luas line going out of town, an objectively nice route but now you have these yokes going at high speed, 2 risks, being taken out from behind by some yooth, 2nd risk , having something ripped from your hand from behind

Seth Brundle

So you're problem is not escooters or ebikes but the higher powered ones which are legislated for separately.
Again, the problem is enforcement of those higher powered yokes, not "normal" escooters or ebikes