The NZ Transport Agency has launched a new advertising campaign to encourage the safe use of increasingly popular e-scooters.
The $250,000 campaign is using street posters, bus shelters, footpath decals, posters and neck tags on scooters in e-scooter hire and retail outlets, as well as YouTube and social media. The campaign urges riders to use e-scooters safety, with a focus on safe speeds, giving way to other footpath users and wearing helmets.
E-scooters are an increasingly common sight in New Zealand towns and cities, with councils in many cities currently running trials with licensed operators.
The Ministry of Transport is currently leading work to develop a regulatory package called ‘Accessible Streets’ to improve safety and accessibility for those using the footpath and to encourage more people to use active transport. As part of this work the MoT is considering what and how different vehicles, including e-scooters, should be used on footpaths, shared paths and cycle paths. Learnings from the current local authority e-scooter trials will be fed into this work, with new regulations likely to be introduced in 2020.
In the meantime, it’s important that people understand their obligations under current transport law, and the new campaign aims to encourage the safe and considerate use of e-scooters, so that everyone using footpaths and shared paths can feel safe.
The key messages for e-scooter users from the campaign are:
For further information about the new campaign go to: www.nzta.govt.nz/e-scooter-advertising
Further details on e-scooters can be found on our website here www.nzta.govt.nz/low-powered-vehicles
