Do we need to ban e-scooters outright?
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Clare Byrne Show on Newstalk with Aviva Insurance.
To e-scooters, very much in the news at the moment. We have heard the many calls in recent days, including from paediatric surgeons, to ban them outright. The Road Safety Authority wants more regulation brought in for those that do use them. But is all of that really the best idea? Irish independent columnist Mary McCarthy is with me. Good morning, Mary.
Morning, Clare.
You have a strong opinion on this.
You know, I do. And it's quite emotional, I think, the scooters, because people, they do get very annoyed with them. They don't really understand that they can be part of like an interconnected ecosystem.
Why are pediatric surgeons and the Road Safety Authority calling to ban or regulate e-scooters?
So before I moved to Brussels two years ago, I would have said ban them, get rid of them. We don't need them. But now that I live in Brussels, I see how they can be quite useful. I mean, that's not to say, like, it's so distressing, Clare, reading those reports. I mean, and if I was a doctor working with kids with brain injuries, I'd be saying the same, you know, and we have a huge problem. I mean, Temple Street, you're not, you're supposed to be 16 to be treated there. These are all under 16. They're all under 16.
We shouldn't be on scooters.
They shouldn't be on scooters because the law is 16, right? So we have a massive culture problem. We have a real problem.
And you've seen it because you've been back and you have seen how scooters are being used in Dublin where you were. And so you can see that this is an issue here, right?
Well, when I, because I left, I moved away from Ireland two years ago and even then there was, they'd be bombing around, you know. But when I was back at Christmas, we were back for 10 days and I was really struck. I was staying in Fisborough and I was out every morning jogging and, you know, just in the car jogging everywhere. I felt... you could see how precarious they were, you know, and I did feel, gosh, this is really going to, something's really going to happen here, you know, and like the stats have been bad for at least a year, you know. And yet you're saying they shouldn't be banned. I know, Clare, and it is, it is a hard one to argue, but it's just, okay, what we, I think what, I think the problem is, is we need, like the legislation obviously needs to be strengthened and we need to do more than just have this law.
We need to register, I would say register them, right, I think that there needs to be stricter penalties. If you see them, a kid on them, they're confiscated immediately. The parents that are buying them. I mean, again, I'm loathe to blame parents. I mean, obviously they're doing, they're breaking the law.
But they're paying for them. I mean, let's be straight about it. They are.
How does Mary McCarthy’s personal experience in Brussels change her view on banning e-scooters?
No, it's awful. It is awful. It is just, I know what it's like when you're 15 year old, like the pressure they can put on you, but it is not to justify them. I'm just saying that it's kind of a lot of problems that we have with them. But the reason I'm saying not to ban them is I think they can be a useful part if you have proper shared transport. I think micro mobility, like I think I was reading the environment.
Like hired scooters, is that what you mean?
I think that they should bring in hired scooters. I think it was a mistake because the government prioritised, they decided to prioritise the private scooters. So they said the hired scooters were too heavy. But the thing is, I was kind of an outlier in the EU, although in the UK they have banned private scooters and they let hired scooters on the road. But the thing with the hired scooters, and I've seen it myself, is you can control them a lot more. So, for instance, there's a speed limit on them. And when you're in pedestrian areas, that speed limit drops to 8km. kilometers an hour you have to be 16 to get your app to get on the app because you've got to prove with ID you know so I feel like if we'd let the scooters in like Lime maybe that would have had a little bit of a culture change like two years ago because people would have been like oh you can't be 16 to use them whereas there was no kind of I mean I know there was the law but
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–0:42
2
Why are pediatric surgeons and the Road Safety Authority calling to ban or regulate e-scooters?
0:42–2:24
3
How does Mary McCarthy’s personal experience in Brussels change her view on banning e-scooters?
2:24–3:52
4
What age and legality issues explain why children under 16 are riding e-scooters?
3:52–7:01
5
Which regulatory measures does Mary McCarthy propose instead of an outright ban?
7:01–10:02
6
How do hired/shared e-scooters differ from private ownership in safety and enforcement?
10:02–11:16
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from The Claire Byrne Show
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