VicPol backs e-scooter trial

By Lachlan Ellis

Victoria Police have cautiously backed an ongoing trial of e-scooters, but warned participants that they must ride sensibly.

Assistant Commissioner of Road Policing, Glenn Weir, addressed the media on 7 February 2022, at the Victoria Police Centre in Docklands.

“The e-scooter trial that’s being run by the Department of Transport is one that Victoria Police is committed to supporting. Privately-owned e-scooters are illegal – if they’re over 200 watts or go over 10 kilometres an hour, they’re illegal,” Assistant Commissioner Weir said.

“The trial that the Department of Transport is running for some time in the City of Ballarat, and around Melbourne, is one we’re keen to support, because it probably offers another way to get around our great city and enjoy summer weather– but it has to be done safely.”

Commissioner Weir said unfortunately they’ve seen some examples where it hasn’t been done safely.

“We ran an operation in the Melbourne CBD recently where we detected 38 different offences on e-scooters. That’s a combination of privately-owned ones, and the ones being run through the trial.”

Most of the offences observed were not wearing a helmet, disobeying red lights, and riding on the road on the unregulated privately-owned e-scooters.

The Assistant Commissioner is hopeful trial participants will behave and won’t need to be strictly policed.

“We’re hopeful that everyone will do the right thing. We want people to engage with the trial, and do it properly, do it sensibly. You will be breath tested, you can’t be over the limit, the same as a motor vehicle. You can’t have a passenger, and you must wear a helmet,” he said.

“We want people to self-regulate here, we don’t want to have to be out necessarily pulling people over, because we want them to be doing the right thing. But let me tell you, if they don’t, we will rigorously enforce people who are doing the wrong thing.

“We want to get a real sense through an evaluation of whether this is worth going ahead with for the Government.”

To read the full story – Simply click on the following link

https://issuu.com/themooraboolnews/docs/mn_2022-02-22/12

in the 22 February 2022 edition
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pick up a paper around your town.