Page 2348 - Week 08 - Thursday, 5 August 2021
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This bill also goes further in limiting the application of penalties to court ordered penalties where there is actual bodily harm, recognising that an infringement notice may be inconsistent with the seriousness of this offence. This approach recognises that more serious offences with proof of fault elements should be dealt with by the courts, especially where there is a high degree of subjective judgment in determining whether the elements of the offence are made out or where the evidence of the commission of offence is not readily apparent without further inquiry.
While there are some key differences between these bills, I applaud the intent of Ms Clay’s bill. We will continue to work together to see if there are ways that we can align the two to deliver the end outcome we all care about—better protecting Canberrans on our roads, including cyclists and pedestrians.
It is not just drivers who must be mindful of their impact on other users of our road network. Ensuring our roads and footpaths are safe requires everyone who uses them to take proper care. Within the ACT and throughout Australia, we are seeing an increase in the use of personal mobility devices, such as e-scooters, as people embrace active travel. Active travel has a number of great health, wellbeing and environmental impacts, but these devices can still cause harm if used irresponsibly.
Since the introduction of the shared e-scooter scheme last year these have proven to be very popular, and a growing number of people are choosing to use their own private e-scooters as well as the shared scheme. So it is important that we make clear in our law that users of these devices must do so responsibly for their own safety and the safety of others.
This bill would introduce a requirement for users of personal mobility devices such as e-scooters, e-skateboards and segway-like devices to remain in proper control at all times. This mirrors the existing provisions requiring a cyclist to have proper control of their bicycle and a driver to have proper control of their motor vehicle.
The use of personal mobility devices is already regulated in the ACT through requirements to wear helmets and maximum speeds. The requirement for personal mobility device users to maintain proper control recognises the risk unsafe behaviours using this transport mode can have on others. Serious injuries can result to the rider and other road users where they are not used responsibly.
The bill also gives police officers new powers to address the unsafe use of various transport modes such as personal mobility devices and bicycles by a person under the influence of alcohol or drugs. E-scooters and bikes should not be seen as an alternative for people who are intoxicated or under the influence of drugs. This behaviour presents a significant safety risk.
These new powers support an early intervention and education process in which a police officer can direct a person not to get on, or to get off, one of these devices. If they ignore that direction, then they could be subject to enforcement action. This will mirror similar powers granted to police officers under section 66C of the Road
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