Most readers will have noticed the increasing presence of electric scooters, on our roads, bike paths and sidewalks too! Many of you may have had an unpleasant encounter with one of these vehicles, usually ridden by people who haven't been on a two wheeled vehicle of any sort in years.
When buying one of these scooters, consumers are given a brief demonstration in how to use the
brake, accelerator and alarm system, they hand over their money and they are free to take to the roads – at speeds of up to 32kph, and more if they have been able to access one of the web-enabled methods of overriding the built-in governor. No instruction is given, no driving license test is handed out, that’s it, go learn by trial by error. In our experience, the majority of electric scooter riders rarely stick to the rules that encourage them to use the bike lanes or even attempt to signal before attempting life risking manoeuvers, putting electric scooters alongside traditional slower moving pedal-powered bicycles is a recipe for disaster. Crash safety is the biggest concern; in a 
runoff with an automobile the electric scooter rider is likely to be worse position than the car driver. Worse still, on rainy nights when it is difficult to see what is around you when driving or riding a normal bike, E-scooter riders will often silently come up behind you and pass within inches without warning.
We are in dire need of legislation and traffic act enforcement to get E-scooter users to ride safely and within the law.Any suggestions about getting them to obey the traffic regulations will be welcomed. Any of you who have had a nasty experience with an E-scooter, please post a comment.
