Posted on: 2024-06-22
Love them or hate them, E-Scooters are here to stay. Looking at the comment section in my local newspaper there's always a heated debate when any article mentions rental scooters. Most people would like to see those companies die in in a fire. Personally however, I like the scooters. They are useful for quickly getting from A to B. Sometimes I don't have my bike with me, don't want to step on a crowded train or bus during rush hour or simply have to go somewhere where it takes forever to take public transportation. No, I don't think they reduce the amount of car traffic as no one switches from a car to a scooter. Scooters will not save the planet, they are simply a (sometimes) useful tool. That's it.
However, the problem is that companies start renting out motorized vehicles to people without any background checks, not doing safety tests or anything. This is deliberate. Most Scooter companies try to serve the more profitable touristy market instead of locals. So when I'm riding as a local in Vienna, certainly a bit of the odd ones. Tourists just want to hop on some scooty-thingy and get going. No time for checks! Rules? Who cares! Ride! ...
But in order to peacefully co-exist, we need rules. The rules need to make sense and should be easy to follow. The "easy to follow" part applies only when we can't enforce them electronically.
One of the rules is parking. It's quite annoying that there are so many assholes who think it's fine to just drop the scooter anywhere they fit, making it difficult to walk on the sidewalk especially with bags or strollers. Wheelchair users may not be able to pass at all. In Vienna designated parking spots started popping up and the app won't let you end your ride unless you parked correctly. I see this problem less and less.
But here's a hint what to do in those situations: Move it! Yes, even if you are not on a scooter, if you see a parked one blocking the path and you are physically able to, just move it aside to a parking spot. It might complain about being moved by blinking and beeping but it will not bite. Even though the last rider (or some other person who moved it) might have been an asshole, the next person who might have had difficulty passing will be thankful. We can work together to make things nicer for everyone.
Ok, getting a bit off-topic here, the reason why I started this post are "Slow zones"
Slow zones
Slow zones are places where have to ride slowly (well duh...). These are typically pedestrian areas but sometimes it's just regular streets where cars are allowed to drive, albeit at reduced speed. Some are even right in the middle of a "Fahrradstraße" - a road with bicycles and other bicycle-like vehicles like scooters prioritized. Thanks to electronic measures the Scooter detects this and slows down hard to around 5 km/h. This is sometimes even dangerous when there's a vehicle behind you and the scooter suddenly breaks for no apparent reason. It will then not go above that speed until the zone is left. 5 km/h is painfully slow! I would be fine with 15 km/h or even 10 km/h but 5 km/h is way too low.
So what to do when you know there is a slow zone approaching?
Well ... That's the stupid thing ... The best approach is to speed up as much as possible and keep the accelerator all the way down. Why? The GPS lags behind a bit. If you're lucky the scooter totally misses the slow zone, at worst it will be short crawl at the end of the zone. But if you actually slow down in the slow zone, the crawl period gets extended painfully long.
This leads to exactly the opposite effect as intended. People want to avoid slowing down in the slow zone before the tiny computer in the Scooter catches up. Better to swerve to avoid an obstacle than to loose some valuable time against the GPS. This puts both rider and the obstacle in unnecessary danger. I can't be the only one to notice this.
What's the solution? Well, as mentioned 10 or 15 km/h would be good speed for a "slow zone". The scooter could even detect if you slow down before entering the zone, realizing that you are paying attention and then grant the 15 km/h until passed. There are so many options. But maybe, just maybe, if there were less egocentric assholes in the world, we wouldn't need designated parking spaces or slow zones at all ...