GSCC unveil new e-scooter signage as Victoria Police pledge to enforce the laws
By Aaron Cordy
THEY are the fast, easy way to zip around town with zero fuel cost and are marketed as good for the environment. But E-Scooters have gained a reputation as a menace as quickly as they gained popularity with their riders.
The reckless behaviour of e-scooter riders shows that there is not enough known about the rules, or people are deliberately ignoring them, which has caused safety concerns for many residents.
To help combat concerns in the CBD of Shepparton and Mooroopna and Tatura main streets, GSCC has teamed up with Victoria Police to improve pedestrian and trader safety. New signage and footpath decals have been installed to remind residents and visitors about the legal and safe use of e-scooters and other recreational vehicles.
Victoria Police will be leading the enforcement, with targeted taskforces monitoring the high pedestrian traffic areas to ensure the safe and correct usage of e-scooters. The enforcement will focus on pedestrian safety, ensuring e-scooters are not being used on footpaths.
“All Victoria Police members in the Greater Shepparton area are now authorised officers, and so that enforcement arm with the erection of this signage allows us to actually enforce those that are choosing to ride e-scooters in the Greater Shepparton area where the signage is erected,” said Shepparton Police Superintendent Brett Kahan.
Fines and confiscations are the tools for local police, but are they going to be enough to stop e-scooter riders terrorising locals not only in the CBD and main streets but all the streets of Greater Shepparton, where they have been known to be a menace?
Injuries are the biggest phenomenon that comes with e-scooters. The injury rate from 2021-2023 was 562 (data from the Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) only). Of those, 383 were male, with a median age of 29.
Those numbers are expected to rise as the RACV is funding new research and awareness into the issue. The multi-centre project includes six sites, including the RMH, Ambulance Victoria, the Alfred Hospital, the Royal Children’s Hospital, Grampians Health Ballarat and St Vincent’s Hospital and is intended to develop a detailed understanding of the epidemiological factors of e-scooter riders and the influence of these factors on e-scooter injuries.
The rules for e-scooters are clear.
E-scooter riders must:
- Be aged 16 years and over
- Not exceed 20 km/h
- Ride only on roads that have a speed limit of 60km/h or less and on bike or shared paths
- Always wear a helmet
- Always have proper control and ride responsibly
- Use a warning (e.g., bell, horn, or verbal) to avert danger
- Follow traffic rules
- Give way to pedestrians where appropriate
- Have front and rear lights if riding at night
E-scooter riders cannot:
- Ride on the footpath
- Use a hand-held mobile phone while riding
- Ride while under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Carry passengers or animals
- Lead an animal, including by tethering the animal to the e-scooter
- Ride in tandem, two abreast
- Ride a high-speed e-scooter – one capable of more than 25km/h
- Ride on roads that have a speed limit over 60km/h
