Victorians are calling for legalising the use of privately owned e-scooters on the state's roads. However, lawyers advise e-scooter enthusiasts to stand by until legal or insurance safety nets are introduced.
In Australia, e-scooters are sold by major retailers – including JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman – starting at $500, with some high-powered models costing over $6,000. However, it is illegal to use privately owned e-scooters on Victorian roads. People caught riding one on Victorian roads face fines of between $182 and $909.
Last week, the Department of Transport extended its trial with hire companies Lime and Neuron until March 31, 2023, as it mulls over letting Victoria join Queensland, Western Australia, and Tasmania in permitting e-scooters on the state's roads.
With the risk of e-scooters injuring pedestrians, Polaris Lawyers director Alice Robinson suggested being on standby until hire operators close an “insurance black hole,” noting that the insurance policies of Lime and Neuron do not cover for pedestrians injured by hired e-scooters on footpaths or otherwise illegally.
“Despite increased community and government awareness of the risks ... there has still been no recommendation to introduce legal or insurance safety nets that assist people who have been injured by e-scooters,” she said, as reported by The Age.
As the debate in Victoria continues, Robinson calls on e-scooter companies to join the Transport Accident Commission or establish a similar no-fault scheme to protect injured third parties.
Hussein Dia, a professor of future urban mobility at Swinburne University, added that legalising private ownership might make enforcing uniform limits on e-scooter speeds and powers easier.
