sonyxperiageek: Until you hit a bump and go flying!

Or a pensioner/child/dog steps out into your path...

MikeB4:

 

Geektastic:

 

 

 

I agree re-alignment is needed, but based on driving standards, New Zealand has yet to master the car, never mind the e-scooter!

 

 

New Zealand has mastered the car but there is an element in our society and probably in most societies that believe the rules do not apply to them, E.G reference use of cellphones in vehicles. They also believe that the roads are theirs to do on what they please.  This applies not only motor vehicle drivers but cyclists, skate boarders, scooter riders and pedestrians.

 

Many NZers haven't mastered the car, or at least not the road rules, and I think a lot of it is due to a lack of skill. Driving on NZ roads is like an obstacle course, avoiding all the muppets that pull out, don't indicate, passing on yellow lines etc. Some towns seem to be a lot worse than others. Also public holidays seem to draw out the worst of the drivers.Also the wet bus ticket fines for using cell phones for phone calls in  a car are a joke IMO, and for many the fine is tiny compared to the value they may lose but not answering the call.

While still OT, it's in line with the last few posts: someone's started a petition on change.org to have drivers needing to do a new test at the time of renewing a driver's licence (every 10 years). I reckon this is a move in the right direction, as there needs to be something done to encourage drivers to actually remember the road rules and demonstrate they can follow them! 

https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/108589250/auckland-man-starts-petition-to-make-drivers-sit-another-test-before-renewing-their-licence

I saw someone in Queen St (Akl CBD) that forcefully grabbed at a Lime Scooter going fairly slowly on the footpath - then did the usual rant about it being wrong, go on the road etc...poor kid on the scooter looked frightened to death...I just walked over and said something to the effect of it's perfectly legal and you should be prosecuted for attempting to injure someone - this gave the offender a distraction that allowed the kid on the Lime to shoot off, leaving me to square up to the grabber...I'm a passive-aggressive type and simply stepped away glaring at the offender waiting for more abuse, which never came. 

Some people need to understand that it's not just them that have rights...like the car vs bicycle argument, which we all take sides over. 

Around the brand new areas in central Christchurch the Limes fit in quite well.   The new pavements are extremely wide - something like Melbourne - and there is plenty of room for pedestrians and the scooters plus there are b**ger all pedestrians around most of the time!   If I was going to ride a Lime this is where I would ride.   A normal street be much riskier, narrow pavements, car drivers that hate you, cars backing out of driveways, pedestrians giving you dirty looks etc.   I think the Lime usage has tailed off a lot in the last few weeks.

Do many Lime users ride on the roads, and how does that go down? Do any use marked cycleways?

I'm increasingly preferring riding my Mi scooter on certain roads (noting this is in quiet PN!) than on the footpath, to avoid the issues you raise above. In particular, I am ever-worried about cars coming out of driveways. I can also avoid the significant dips with driveway pads, big cracks, crumbling surfaces or large tree roots... This week I almost came off when I hit a trench of sand on the footpath. Yep, a tradie thinks it's ok to fill up two service trenches that fully cross a footpath with sand to be level with the surface.

The hotmix road surface is somewhat more 'friction-inducing' so pretty much a constant minor vibration, but that's preferable to coming off.

You should not use cycleways.

You can use the road or footpaths.

freitasm:

 

You should not use cycleways.

 

You can use the road or footpaths.

 

I find this a bit weird, considering the similarities.

freitasm:

 

You should not use cycleways.

 

You can use the road or footpaths.

 

I'll use cycleways if they're there. Thats a dumb and outdated regulation, if I get a ticket it will be a great story for the media. Although some new cycleways are tiled and bumpy

But yeah, I prefer the road as I can get where I'm going quicker by not having to be cautious around driveways etc

freitasm:

You should not use cycleways.

You can use the road or footpaths.

NzBeagle:

 

freitasm:

 

You should not use cycleways.

 

You can use the road or footpaths.

 

 

I find this a bit weird, considering the similarities.

 

And this is where I pointed out the grey areas that need patching up asap. These weren't a 'thing' when they were originally accounted for.

<350mm wheel = not a bike

Bike = helmet. Scooter = not legislated for

Yet under low powered vehicle classification..

E-scooters can be used on the footpath or the road – except in designated cycle lanes that are part of the road (which were designed for the sole use of cyclists).

 

A helmet is not legally required to be worn when using an e-scooter, but is recommended.

So on the one hand 'save cyclists head/lives!' and on the other 'meh, let them scooters dice with death'

SpartanVXL: Just did another trip, haven't since they first came out. The brakes are as stiff as I remember, possibly getting worse considering they are usually left out in the elements. Saw my first run in with the opposition. Was coming down the street following another fella on a lime before stopping my ride. Poor bloke had an older lady jump out in front and start ripping into him about how fast he was going. The road had quite a few side roads, bumps and driveways and we were going no more than 13kmph. Nope apparently too fast for this lady. He supposedly should have been on the road with all the other vehicles instead of being a danger to pedestrians. Despite how slow he was actually going he was quick enough to escape her by hopping onto the road and back to the sidewalk. Watched as the lady cussed him out while he kept going, shaking his head.

I did my first Lime ride earlier this week. At one point I was about 6-7 meters away from a lady on a huge concrete area (Victoria and Union St area under the motorway near Vic Park Markets for those familiar with Auckland), and she yelled at me to watch where I was going or something. I laughed and said I was miles away from her (Which I was, and I was fully aware of her presence), to which she retorted some crap about intimidation. I didn't hear it all as I just carried on my merry way.

Moral is, that some people will never be pleased as their interpretation of safe is completely unrealistic in a modern, fast paced city.

robfish:

freitasm:

 

You should not use cycleways.

 

You can use the road or footpaths.

 

 

One scooter ride on St. Asaph Street will change your mind on that. The cycle lane and footpath are ok but the road is scarily narrow.

 

Yes, but here is the NZTA page stating that electric scooters are declared to not be a motor vehicle and you can use them without registration or a drivers licence. You can read this on the Gazette. Electric scooters can be used on the footpath or the road – except in designated cycle lanes that are part of the road (which were designed for the sole use of cyclists). A helmet is not legally required to be worn when using an electric scooter, but is recommended.

Also you will find that riding on a suburban footpath can be dangerous because all of the driveways - cars coming out without looking in all direction, uneven footpath, etc.