Electric scooter riders in Queensland could soon be forced to get a driver’s license as city leaders crack down on riders who modify their scooters to defy speed limits.
Speeding electric scooters are seen as a hazard to pedestrians on Gold Coast’s Oceanway path and the Esplanade at Surfers Paradise, with councilors fearing the scooters could cause fatalities.
Mayor Tom Tate wrote a letter to Transportation Secretary Mark Bailey on Tuesday advocating state intervention.
Mr Tate claimed police were powerless to stop the two-wheeled scorn and called for the state to introduce licensing and registration for e-scooter riders.
“Queensland Police are facing challenges in enforcing the new regulations due to resource constraints,” Mr Tate wrote.
Electric scooter riders in Queensland could soon be forced to get driver’s licenses and registration as city leaders crack down on riders who flout e-scooter laws and speed limits
Mayor Tom Tate (pictured) wrote a letter to Secretary of Transportation Mark Bailey advocating for state intervention
“We urge the state to actively explore options to support Queensland Police in their enforcement efforts and ensure e-scooter safety measures are effectively implemented.”
“While licenses may be part of the solution, we recognize that young people are not required to hold them or carry identification to use e-scooters.”
New speed limits for e-scooter riders were introduced last November, with riders allowed to drive up to 12 km/h on ocean roads and trails and up to 25 km/h on roads.
Most e-scooters have a speed limit of 20 km/h, but with firmware updates and modifications, riders can modify their scooters to go much faster.
Gold Coast local and Hot Tomato Radio Drive presenter Moyra Major told Sunrise on Tuesday that e-scooters can be “pretty scary” as they zip by on the esplanade.
“I think there must be some rules for it,” said Mrs. Major.
‘Registration of course, it’s like with a bicycle or a car, it can be quite scary when they buzz past you.
“So I think it would be good to get some signups going.”
Most e-scooters have a speed limit of 20 km/h, but with firmware updates and modifications, riders can modify their scooters to go as fast as 40 km/h
Gold Coast local and Hot Tomato Radio Drive host Moyra Major (pictured) supported the mayor’s call for registration, claiming that e-scooters can be ‘pretty scary’ as they whiz by
Melbourne broadcaster Justin Smith joined the discussion and agreed that e-scooters should be registered.
“I think we should start registering them and if we don’t start now it will just get out of hand,” Mr Smith said.
“Just half an hour ago in Docklands on Dudley Street, an e-scooter ran a red light and there’s nothing we can do about it.
“If anyone sees them, they can’t report it and if they run over someone, God forbid, which happened and they leave, no one can do anything about it.”
It comes after a 38-year-old man in Canberra was sentenced to four months in prison after police caught him speeding 100km/h on an e-scooter.
James Cole, 38, was spotted by police on December 23 last year as he was speeding along the Majura Parkway in eastern Canberra.
When two officers on motorcycles try to pull him over, bodycam footage shows Cole refusing to pull over and accelerating in an attempt to avoid them.
The clip, played in front of the ACT Magistrates Court, shows Cole turning off the road and onto a cycle path where cyclists dismount to avoid a collision when they hear the bikes approaching.
When the officers manage to arrest Cole after he falls off the e-scooter after a nearly five minute chase.
His lawyer said he was on the e-scooter because he lost his drug-driving license and that he was fleeing police because he didn’t want to be late for his job as a mechanic.
Special magistrate Sean Richter said Cole was “well past the age” when he expected to see people appear in court “driving scooters and doing stupid things.”
Police caught Canberra man James Cole, 38, driving 100km/h on an e-scooter (pictured)
Cole received a four-month prison sentence, with one month behind bars and the remaining three after release on a good behavior warrant.
There have been seven deaths related to e-scooters across Australia, including the recent death of a 15-year-old boy in Queensland.
The teenager died in hospital in July last year after crashing his electric scooter on a sidewalk in a suburb in Logan, south of Brisbane.
The 15-year-old suffered a head hit after coming off the e-scooter and was rushed to Queensland Children’s Hospital with critical injuries, but died five days later.
