Breaking road rules on an e-scooter could risk driver’s licence in Australia

Two men in Australia have lost their drivers’ licences after being caught operating e-scooters either intoxicated or over the speed limit.

Many people wonder what the road rules are when it comes to these two wheeled vehicles, with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency recently closing public submissions on its proposal whether to extend the motor vehicle exemption status for e-scooters in New Zealand.

Electric Scooter Shop chief scooter enthusiast Jonno Leonard is often asked what the e-scooter rules are here and points out they can be ridden in New Zealand without needing a driver’s licence.

“It’s a real grey, area,” he says. “We need clarity on rules around low-speed vehicles like e-scooters so we can educate people and they can understand better.”

Leonard suggests keeping e-mobility rules simple and like those for cars.

He tells e-scooter riders to follow the rules (including those set by e-scooter rental companies) and wear helmets, stay within speed limits and to not drink and ride – especially if intoxicated.

Leonard has recently returned from Australia where he says e-scooter rules vary.

“E-scooters have taken over the Australian streets, and in some states the roads,” says Slater and Gordon Lawyers Queensland work and road claims head Peta Yujnovich.

“They’re a convenient and fun way to get around, and you don’t even need a licence to use them.

“But, if you’re someone who holds a driver’s licence and you get on an e-scooter thinking you can get away with speeding or, that blood alcohol limits don’t apply, think again.”

She says it’s happened in Queensland and Victoria, the rule also applying to New South Wales.

“Just two weeks ago a Victorian man was caught allegedly three times over the limit, resulting in a hefty $1000 fine and the loss of his licence for 13 months.

“But it’s not just people hopping on an e-scooter after a night out thinking they won’t be caught. In December last year a Queensland man trying to get to work on time, was videoed speeding at 94km/h while helmet-free,” says Yujnovich.

“He was given a $575 fine, and the minimum penalty for a dangerous driving offence, which was a six-month disqualification of his driver’s licence.”

Yujnovich says confusion may exist about what penalties apply because a driver’s licence is not always needed to operate an e-scooter.

She adds Queensland electric scooter riders could soon be forced to get a licence and registration as city leaders crackdown riders flouting e-scooter laws and speed limits.

“When most people get on an e-scooter they can think they’re using a toy, but it is vehicle and it’s drivers are subject to the same if not similar laws other vehicles are.”

If you wouldn’t do it in a car or on a motorbike you shouldn’t do it using an e-scooter, says Yujnovich.

“That includes drinking and riding, using your mobile phone on your e-scooter or speeding.

“Just as there are financial, and sometimes deadly, consequences to doing those things in a car, we need to remember these consequences also apply to e-scooters.”

Yujnovich suggests e-scooter and e-bike riders keep left of oncoming bicycles and other personal mobility devices and follow the road rules.

She says rules vary depending on what state you are riding the e-scooter in.

“In Queensland, for example, when riding on the road, e-scooters must comply with normal road rules. In Victoria and New South Wales, you cannot ride on the footpath, but in all other states you can. In Queensland, you can ride on a footpath at a maximum speed of 12km/h and you must give way to other path users.”