Did you know you could be breaking the law by riding an e-scooter in a public place.
According to Transport NSW, it is illegal to ride a personal e-scooter on a road or road-related area.
The NSW Minister for Transport, Jo Haylen, has said: “Only 22% of people across the state know it’s illegal to ride e-scooters on our roads and streets.”
Ms Haylen speculated that there are 1.35 million e-micromobility devices in homes across NSW with about 460,0000 of these are being e-scooters.
“It’s a strange regulatory blind spot, and it has to change,” Ms Haylen said.
The NSW Government has released an E-micromobility Action Plan, advancing towards legalising e-scooters.
Currently, only shared e-scooters, such as Beam and Lime, are legal to ride in trial areas. However, these also come with rules and penalties.
The law
To ride a shared e-scooter, you must be at least 16 years old and wearing a helmet.
These scooters can only be ridden on appointed shared paths, reaching a limit of 10 km/h, and bicycle lanes and roads in trial areas, reaching a limit of 20 km/h. However, e-scooters cannot be used on footpaths.
Safety measures are extensive and include prohibiting carrying another person on the same e-scooter and riding while under the influence. The same blood alcohol limits applies as with driving a motor vehicle – 0.05 being the legal limit.
Significant penalties may apply if the e-scooters are incorrectly used.
The penalty for carrying passengers, riding whilst being younger than 16 years old, or riding on the footpath is a $136 fine.
Not wearing a helmet is a $410 fine and if riding under the influence, you will be subjected to the same penalties that apply to motorists.
Insurance
When boarding a shared e-scooter, the risk of injury is an ever-present issue that raises insurance and liability concerns.
Lime, for example, guarantees a rider’s liability coverage in case of injury, at no extra charge, even if it was the rider’s fault.
However, the company’s generosity wears thin as their policy excludes awarding compensation to those who fail to abide by transport regulations, such as failing to wear a helmet, driving whilst intoxicated, and being under the specified age.
There are two types of e-bikes: power-assisted pedal cycles and electrically power-assisted cycles. In NSW, it is illegal to ride petrol-powered bicycles and any other bicycles that don’t abide by e-bike requirements, as stipulated by the NSW Government.
The same road rules apply to e-bikes as normal bikes. Currently, the rules state that a rider older than 16 years of age cannot ride on a footpath, with some exceptions.
Promisingly, a recent NSW parliamentary committee has made 34 recommendations to reform e-mobility devices, such as e-scooters and e-bikes, to co-exist with the current transport options and ensure safety measures for pedestrians.
For example, one recommendation is for the NSW Government to amend the road rules so that e-mobility devices can be used on footpaths, reaching a maximum speed of 15 km/h, unless otherwise stated. In addition, riders must give way to pedestrians at all times.
However, the Government has yet to address these recommendations. In the meantime, if you have sustained an injury or would like more information, contact Nott and Co Lawyers’ expert defence lawyers, based in Sydney.
