Officials in Australia, specifically in Melbourne, have banned rental electric skates on the grounds that they pose unacceptable risks to the safety of citizens.

The electric scooters first hit the streets of Melbourne in February 2022, with the prospect of a two-year trial period.

However, since then hundreds of accidents have become a source of complaints and public outrage.

A spokesman for a Melbourne hospital said, as reported by the BBC, that accidents with electric scooters had even caused deaths and brain injuries, with injuries mainly to younger patients.

The mayor is outraged

Melbourne’s mayor has said he is “fed up” with the bad behavior of some electric scooter users.

“Too many people skate on sidewalks. People don’t park properly. You see them overturned, scattered around the city like confetti, like litter, creating a tripping hazard,” Nicholas Reece told local radio station 3AW.

It is noted that electric skates can move at a speed of up to 26 km/h (16 mph).

The answer from the electric skate companies

Companies Lime and Neuron have been ordered to remove their electric skates from Melbourne within 30 days.

About 1,500 Lime and Neuron scooters had been distributed across the city since the trial began in February 2022.

Both companies said they had invested heavily in recent months to improve safety and regulations around scooter use, with Neuron saying it plans to install AI cameras on scooters to prevent misuse.

A spokesman for one of the two companies denounced the city council’s blanket ban, saying they had been in discussions with city officials to introduce measures such as restricting the use of scooters to less trafficked parts of the city or creating driving zones.

The companies claim that they still have six months left to complete their contracts.