Introducing rules that stamp out drunk scooter riding in central Hobart is to be on the table for the City Council to consider.
New Councillor Louise Elliott is proposing Salamanca and the waterfront be banned for scooters between 10pm and 5am on Friday and Saturday nights.
She is far from convinced self regulation by the scooter hire companies would be sufficient.
“I want to get absolute clarity on it and the Council to agree that we don’t have scooters in those precincts in the peak times, because research from elsewhere in Europe for example shows that accidents that happen in those night time hours 91% of the time the rider is intoxicated.”
During that time their danger to others using footpaths has been debated, while instances of misuse such as CCTV of a youth riding through a shopping centre has potentially dogged their reputation.
