Source: Radio New Zealand
E-bikes are one way commuters are getting around. (File photo) RNZ / Richard Tindiller
Electric mobility devices like e-scooters and e-bikes are proving popular as more people look to beat anxiety over fuel supply questions.
As petrol prices conitnue to rise, TradeMe data shows searches for e-scooters had jumped 68 percent compared to this time last year.
Electric scooter shop owner Jen Hobbs said the devices were already popular among students.
“They’re everywhere. Young kids on the footpath going to and from school on these little scooters, and sometimes you see kids on big powerful scooters too, and I’m equivocal about that.”
But in Australia, one state had expressed concerns over teenagers zipping around too fast on the devices, endangering themselves and those around them.
A Queensland parliamentary inquiry recommended tighter rules around using e-mobility devices, including an age limit, and a learner’s driver’s license.
University of Melbourne researcher Milad Haghani said the recommendations would work well as a short-term solution.
“But from the standpoint of policy makers, you have to understand that they need to come up with quick policy lines that would fix the problem in the short term until we can figure out how to stop the infiltration of illegal and high-speed e-bikes and e-scooters into our streets.”
Dr Milad Haghani is a researcher at University of Melbourne, he supports banning under 16s from e-bikes and e-scooters in Queensland. Supplied/Milad Haghani
He said it’s a policy that can be viewed in the same “spirit” as the latest ban on social media.
“Can young kids benefit from accessing social media to some degrees as well if they use it responsibly? Yes, but the Australian policymaker has decided that the potential for harm is much greater than any benefit and as such has moved on to restrict the access.”
In New Zealand, concerns were also growing as data revealed young people were well represented in statistics on e-scooter related injuries.
In 2022, about 40 percent of new e-scooter related ACC claims were from those under 25-years-old. This grew to 47 percent last year.
Part of the rise was being driven by claims for 10 to 14-year-olds, which tripled during that time.
While Haghani believed a ban on under 16-year-olds would be fair, University of Queensland researcher Dorina Pojani thought even a temporary ban would impact some families too much.
“My own research focuses quite a lot on gender, and I found that mothers are often overburdened by the need to chauffeur children from activities to activity. Fathers do, but often these kinds of things are done by mothers. And having children be able to travel independently would be a huge thing for families.”
Dr Dorina Pojani from the University of Queensland doesn’t support banning under 16s from e-bikes and e-scooters. Supplied / Dorina Pojani
Hobbs, said business had picked up at her shop since the conflict in the Middle East.
She did not support an age limit but believed teaching younger riders about road rules could help.
Hobbs said the appropriate age should depend on the child. For example, a 10-year-old with good spatial awareness could be trusted with an e-scooter that could go as fast as 30kph, but for other children they needed to be older.
“It is, of course, a good idea for the riders to have some training about how to be considerate of others. I think a sensible distinction is that if you don’t have a driver’s license, then you should not be operating any vehicle on the road.”
Anyone without a license could ride on the footpath or cycle lane instead, she said.
Hobbs wanted to see a policy that focused on rider behaviour.
“I think the speed limit on the footpath should be 15 kilometers per hour. I think the rule should be that you have to dismount around pedestrians. And I think the speed limit on all roads should apply. If the rule is there, then it can be enforced.”
Maurice Wells, from the Electric Bike Team, said neither rules would keep his children safe.
“I would absolutely have mixed feelings about putting them on an e-bike. My main concern about when they should ride an e-bike is not based on their exact age. It’s based on their skills at controlling a bike and it’s based on the environment in which they’re riding.”
Maurice Wells, from the Electric Bike Shop, thinks a driver’s license is not the best way to keep young riders safe on the road. Supplied
He said licensing would be difficult to enforce, and would not keep children safe on the road.
“That’s not to say people don’t have to know the road rules, but I think when you are a vulnerable road user on a bicycle or a scooter you have an in-built incentive or motivation to understand how the road rules work.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
