You can lose your driver’s licence while using an e-scooter
- Written by Slater and Gordon Lawyers
Two men in Australia have lost their drivers’ licenses after being caught operating e-scooters either intoxicated or over the speed limit, and many people are wondering what the road rules are when it comes to these two wheeled vehicles.
An expert in motor vehicle law will explain the dos and don’ts when it comes to road safety and e-scooters.
E-scooters have taken over the Australian streets, and in some states the roads. 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.
We’ve seen it happen in Queensland and Victoria already, but the rule applies to New South Wales as well.
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 license 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.
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.
There can be confusion over what penalties apply because you don’t always need a driver’s licence to operate an e-scooter, though electric scooter riders in Queensland 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.
To put it simply, if you wouldn’t do it in a car or on a motorbike you shouldn’t do it using an e-scooter. 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.
If you are riding an e-scooter or e-bike, keep left of oncoming bicycles and other personal mobility devices and follow the road rules.
The 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.
The author
Slater and Gordon Head of Work and Road Claims Queensland, Peta Yujnovich
An expert in motor vehicle law will explain the dos and don’ts when it comes to road safety and e-scooters.
E-scooters have taken over the Australian streets, and in some states the roads. 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.
We’ve seen it happen in Queensland and Victoria already, but the rule applies to New South Wales as well.
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 license 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.
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.
There can be confusion over what penalties apply because you don’t always need a driver’s licence to operate an e-scooter, though electric scooter riders in Queensland 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.
To put it simply, if you wouldn’t do it in a car or on a motorbike you shouldn’t do it using an e-scooter. 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.
If you are riding an e-scooter or e-bike, keep left of oncoming bicycles and other personal mobility devices and follow the road rules.
The 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.
The author
Slater and Gordon Head of Work and Road Claims Queensland, Peta Yujnovich