First, we had to endure that American invention, Halloween (which, thankfully, has never really taken off in New Zealand), and then we got the meaningless and annoying "Black Friday" -- which is apparently an American ritual for the day following Thanksgiving (which we have not imported yet).
And now we have electric scooters. If these e-scooters become fashionable, it will only be a passing fad, but how many innocent pedestrians will be maimed, meantime?
Wellington streets are crowded!
This is the latest news report (including the Lime spokesman's strange spelling):
California-based company Lime has rolled out hundreds of electric-scooters on to the streets of Auckland and Christchurch and now has its sights set on the capital.
Lime have had more than 300,000 registered trips in Auckland and Christchurch since the rollout began last month.
People use an app and pay by the minute to rent the e-scooters which reach a top speed of 27 kilometres an hour.
Auckland councillor Christine Fletcher has called for regulation before somebody gets killed by an e-scooter and the Mayor Phil Goff has requested urgent advice around how to improve e-scooter safety.
Despite the concerns Lime spokesperson Hank Rowe told Morning Report he hopes to have the scooters in Wellington before Christmas.
He said Lime has been in contact with the local councils to work through the process of bringing the scooters to the capital.
Since last month's launch the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) has received 66 claims for e-scooter related injuries.
Mr Rowe said Lime is running a global social media campaign called 'Respect the Ride' to remind users of the importance of safety.
"We suggest that when you're riding on the footpath you are obviously courteous of the people around you and make sure you're not going past people at too faster speed.
"The scooters do have bells on them so if you're coming up behind someone and need to get passed them you can get their attention and if you're riding on the road, being on the left hand side and being safe," he said.
Mr Rowe said Wellingtonians will have to be particularly careful on the hilly streets.
"One of my favourite quotes for when it comes to going down hill is the brake is far more important than the accelerator."
But how about the pedestrians who are deaf? And can't hear the bell?
How about the elderly, who might have lost the agility to leap out of the way?
And how about the visually impaired?
Friend George, who is blind, and has a lovely guide dog, was concerned enough to want to have a chat to the mayor (Justin Lester). This -- reproduced with his permission -- is his account of what happened.
Last Tuesday after hearing a news item on National radio of sixty six accidents arising from electric scooters since being introduced in NZ I decided I would visit the Wellington Council office and arrange a meeting with the Mayor to appraise him of the potential dangers of these vehicles to the public and in particular to small children and we people with a disability. The news item had included an interview with the CE of the scooter company in which he had stated the scooters would be in Wellington by Christmas.
I approached the reception desk at the council office and asked if I could make an appointment to speak to the Mayor and I was directed “over there” to the service department. I went through the usual explanation as to why over there was not much of a direction for a blind person and I was then given proper directions. At the service counter I was told they had never dealt with such a request as for a meeting with the Mayor, so I suggested that the lady might seek assistance from her manager which she did returning with a form pushing it across the counter and telling me to fill in my request to see the Mayor. I explained that I was unable to do this as I was blind. She then told me I could take the form home to which I replied I am as blind at home as I was in the office and I asked if she might fill the form in for me. The lady then asked how long it would take to which I replied how fast can you write, but we did get the form filled in eventually.
Three hours later I received an email from a senior EA to the Mayor in which she referred me to a councillor with my concern, but earlier I had been told that the Mayor had been tweeting his agreement with Taylor Swift about scooters, so I got annoyed and replied that if the Mayor spent less time on twittering about Taylor Swifts comments and made more time listening to the citizens of Wellington then we would all be better off. I pointed out that I had voted for Justin Lester a mistake I would not repeat.
One half hour later I received a phone call from the Mayor who told me my email was offensive and that he was too busy to talk to me and as a thirty nine year old man he thought scooters would be a lot of fun, but as Mayor he would have to think carefully and that the CE of the scooter company had over stated the council’s position as to whether a permit would be granted. I gave him examples from my own experience on our waterfront with both scooters and E bikes and his reply to this was that it was very difficult to police bad behaviour.
So I say let the battle commence - we are up for the Mayoral election next year.
Regards George
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