E-Scooters: What have other European countries done about them?
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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The Pat Kenny Show. With Timber Living Log Cabins. Saturday and Sunday from 10am on Newstalk. Conversation that counts. Many people use e-scooters safely for legitimate purposes. For example, commuting to work or to college or to sport. But what happens if you hit a pothole or a drain and you become a cropper?
Physics of these machines are that basically when you hit an obstruction... you immediately become a projectile at 20 to 30 kilometers an hour, whatever the speed that you're going at. And that is resulting in the severe injuries. So 100% intracranial bleeds, half of them had brain contusions, half of them required emergency neurosurgery. And that's just the brain injuries. You then have other injuries, such as injuries to the face. So, you know, you can have very complex, injuries to the face, requiring surgery, and leaving them with long-term disability, leaving them with nerve damage and disfigurement. And then you have all of the other, you know, in the context of this, the more minor injuries, but certainly not minor in our view of fractures, abrasions, lacerations, concussions without necessarily getting full-on intracranial bleeds.
So these are very significant situations.
So that was Thurlick Bulger, Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine, Clinical Director at Children's Health Ireland, speaking to Newstalk earlier this week. What we want to talk about today is the use and abuse of e-scooters because on Monday the relevant ministers are all going to be meeting and proposals will be put before them as to what to do, whether to ban them outright, whether to control them, to regulate them and how to police them, all of these thorny problems. And we thought we might look at how other jurisdictions handle the problems whether or not they have open season on e-scooters or whether or not they ban them entirely. Just looking at our nearest neighbour, in London there are some trials on rental scooters, but they're only trials.
And if they don't work out, what happens to private scooters will happen to the rental scooters. They will be banned entirely. Private e-scooters remain 100% illegal on public roads and paths. That's in the UK. Here, as you know, they are allowed by law as rentals, but they have no schemes yet because there's some controversy about weight limits. Riding on the sidewalk or footpath riding is completely banned here. There's a speed limit of 20 kilometres per hour. There's a weight limit ceiling of 25 kilograms and you cannot take your e-scooter on public transport. So you can't take it on the bus, you can't take it on the train, the dart or whatever. This is for fear of battery fires and so on. But whether that is observed is another question entirely.
Now, we heard a lot about Paris and e-scooters.
What are the current safety concerns and injury statistics linked to e-scooters?
So we go to Elaine Cobb, first of all, Paris-based journalist, to hear about the experience there. Elaine, good morning. Good morning, Pat. Now, we heard about the ban on rental schemes, but you still see e-scooters around Paris.
Yes, Paris was a pioneer of scooters, especially scooters for hire. But the infuriated motorists, cyclists and pedestrians, as the users, frequently ignored the rules on where to ride and park them. So in 2023, e-scooters for hire were banned across the French capital. You can still ride your own bike, but there are far more regulations in place now In fact, across France, the minimum age is 14 years. The speed is limited to 25 kilometres an hour. No driving on footpaths, only one passenger and mandatory equipment like front and rear lights, reflectors, etc. And then each city is allowed to bring in other rules.
Now, what about helmets?
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–3:31
2
What are the current safety concerns and injury statistics linked to e-scooters?
3:31–11:31
3
What legal status and basic rules govern e-scooters in Ireland and the UK?
11:31–17:20
4
Why did Paris ban rental e-scooter schemes and what local rules remain?
17:20–18:09