E-scooter trials - but rental only. What do members think?

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

What is it with Bristolians and throwing things in docks?

Statues, bicycles.............now scooters?

Perhaps the fish should be issued with hard hats? 

[froome]

What is it with Bristolians and throwing things in docks?

Statues, bicycles.............now scooters?

Perhaps the fish should be issued with hard hats? 

Fish? In Bristol's docks? I think you are being a tad optimistic. Don't be fooled by the anglers lined up by the outfall, they're really just gnomes. 

Talking of throwing scooters around, soon after they were introduced here in Bath, I saw one man who was walking down a road where some were parked, and as he was passing he picked one up, raised it above his head, and then sent it crashing down onto the others. Must admit I couldn't believe it, as it was the middle of the day and plenty of people around. He then calmly continued walking past as if that was a perfectly reasonable action.

[TaplowGreen]

What is it with Bristolians and throwing things in docks?

Statues, bicycles.............now scooters?

Perhaps the fish should be issued with hard hats? 

Fish? In Bristol's docks? I think you are being a tad optimistic. Don't be fooled by the anglers lined up by the outfall, they're really just gnomes. 

Talking of throwing scooters around, soon after they were introduced here in Bath, I saw one man who was walking down a road where some were parked, and as he was passing he picked one up, raised it above his head, and then sent it crashing down onto the others. Must admit I couldn't believe it, as it was the middle of the day and plenty of people around. He then calmly continued walking past as if that was a perfectly reasonable action.

............possibly the first recorded example of scooter rage?

[TonyK]

Presumably they know whom hired each scooter and therefore whom threw it into the dock rather than returning it.

They aren't physically locked to anything after use. Who last hired it and who Colstoned it could very easily be two (or more) different people.

[Bmblbzzz]

Presumably they know whom hired each scooter and therefore whom threw it into the dock rather than returning it.

They aren't physically locked to anything after use. Who last hired it and who Colstoned it could very easily be two (or more) different people.

In addition, an app was also needed to hire the Yo bikes. They knew exactly who had last hired it, but not who threw it in the harbour. As TonyK says, it's a known hazard not just in Bristol that when things of this sort are not docked, they get docked.

[johnneyw]

I've not been lurking round the docks recently enough to verify this but could it be that the E-scooter docking nodes are deliberately located a sufficient distance away from deep water in order to avoid being easily thrown in?

[Marlburian]

E-scooter robbery in Bracknell

And apparently in a busy location.

(The value of some bicycles must make them a temptation to "highway robbers" who can identify an up-market model.)

[broadgage]

The risk of theft is in my view a major factor that discourages cycling and use of E-cycles.
When living in London I observed many probably stolen cycles being sold in the vicinity of the Brick lane Sunday market.
Sometimes the original owner of the cycle turned up and demanded it back. Their success depended on how many friends they had with them, and on what level of violence was used.
I never saw a policeman in the vicinity.

[Bmblbzzz]

These things tend to go in waves. "Highway robbery" of bikes, and not necessarily high-end ones, does happen from time to time – in fact a friend of mine was a victim of it a few years ago (but recovered his bike through social media) – but it's certainly not a permanent worry. You might remember "carjacking" being a thing back in the 1990s.

[Marlburian]

Now a theft in Reading

[TonyK]

The worst yet, appearing in the Evening Standard via MSN:

E-scooter boy, 16, ‘killed by driver on wrong side of road’ in Bromley
John Dunne 

A teenage e-scooter rider was killed after being hit by a car travelling on the wrong side of the road at high speed, witnesses claimed on Monday.

The 16-year-old was thrown 30 yards down the street after the collision in Southborough Lane, Bromley, south London, at 1.20am on Sunday,

An off duty nurse tried to save his life but he died later in hospital. His e-scooter was stolen from the scene.

(Continues at source)
 
It is awful for the poor lad's family and friends. It also shows the lows that people will stoop to, when someone will stop to steal the dying boy's scooter. I read elsewhere that the driver of the car that hit him has apparently been arrested, and blew a positive alcohol test. The vehicle that stopped to take the scooter, which does not seem to be otherwise related to the incident, is being sought.

[TaplowGreen]

Blind and visually impaired groups calling for trials to be stopped.

https://news.sky.com/story/e-scooters-campaigners-for-blind-and-visually-impaired-groups-demand-an-end-to-city-trials-12359475

[TaplowGreen]

Another awful incident......."life changing" often means amputation. Wonder how long the trial will continue?


https://amp.lbc.co.uk/news/girl-3-life-changing-injuries-hit-e-scooter-south-london-lambeth/?__twitter_impression=true

[rogerw]

No indication that this was a rental scooter. Just as likely to have been an illegally ridden private one. My sympathies go to the girl and her family.

[broadgage]

Hired E-scooters are about to become available in Minehead. One hopes that the standard of scooter riding will exceed the standard of car driving, which seems very low in Minehead.