In Waterford city, a community organisation is promoting the safe use of e-bikes, e-scooters and motorbikes for young people in the hope of curtailing road crashes and reducing antisocial behaviour.
Treo Port Láirge works with young adults, aged 16 and over, to highlight positive lifestyle choices and put them on a path towards further education, training and employment.
Treo chief executive Danny Murphy says the programme started during the Covid-19 pandemic, with an initial focus on cars. Murphy says he is “constantly thinking of what the current trend is in Waterford with crime”, and what stood out then was “a lot of dangerous driving”.
“I don’t want to home in on it, but there’s been a few unfortunate incidents in Waterford city [in the last few years],” he says. “And there [has been] an increase around the country of unsafe use of scramblers, e-bikes, and scooters.”
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Last month, 16-year-old Grace Lynch died after being hit by a scrambler in Finglas, Dublin. In response to the incident, proposals for a total ban on scrambler use in public places were agreed by the Cabinet on Wednesday, with the legislation to be named “Grace’s Law”.
Murphy says anything that supports restrictions on scramblers and the safe use of e-scooters has his approval.
“If that means the streets and footpaths of Waterford and other cities, towns and villages in Ireland are safer, that would be welcomed by Treo Port Láirge,” he says.
The organisation’s Kickstarting the Community initiative began last December, with participants receiving training from mechanics on the workings of e-scooters, e-bikes and motorbikes. They are encouraged to pursue apprenticeships with the local Education and Training Board (ETB) to further their skills.
Once a week during the programme, a local authority official runs a road-safety session. Treo staff support the participants, encouraging them to work towards getting a provisional driving licence and facilitating on-road training, a legal requirement for motorbike users but not for those riding e-scooters.
Murphy says education improves awareness and many people “that are using e-scooters and scramblers haven’t got that knowledge of the rules of the road yet”.
“Up and down on footpaths, breaking red lights, no lights on their vehicle, no high-vis, no helmet. We’re trying to provide the learner with [knowledge of] what would happen if you do come off the bike, or if you are stopped by the roads policing unit.”
He acknowledges that outside of convenience, there is a “buzz” in using e-scooters and scramblers that appeals to some young people.
Murphy’s background is in tyrefitting and mechanics. He brought in a friend with more expertise, Hilton Hincks, a motorbike mechanic, former racer and 15-time Irish champion, to help lead the programme.
[ New scrambler proposals will remove ‘ambiguity’ about their use, Government saysOpens in new window ]
The idea is to expand Kickstarting the Community, with a view to bringing it to a wider demographic including transition-year (TY) students. Treo’s funding comes from the Department of Justice under a programme that reinvests money seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau into community initiatives.
Treo does not tell participants that they should not be on the vehicles, it advises them on how to drive safely.
Maybe in Dublin it’s okay, but down the country buses mightn’t be available, so they will buy a scooter
— Philip Pericho, of retailer Eko Bikes
“We can only try to land that message on an individual. It’s what they take from that. There’ll always be an element that will not comply with rules of the road,” Murphy says.
“With these things, [some would] just say ‘No, you can’t use them’, but people are going to use them.”
Located close to Treo is Eko Bikes, an electric bike and scooter retailer and repair shop run by Philip Pericho. He was involved in putting together a scooter safety course specifically designed for TY students 18 months ago.
There was positive feedback from schools, but concerns around insurance prevented the project from taking off. Pericho and Murphy have discussed bringing students to Treo and operating the course there.
Pericho initially named the business Scooter Scooter, but changed it to Eko Bikes to reflect the most popular product. He still sells e-scooters, but avoids electric motorbikes and scramblers.
“We deal with everybody,” Pericho says. “You will find that someone is in the country a week, and they get a job and a commute. Maybe in Dublin it’s okay, but down the country buses mightn’t be available, so they will buy a scooter.”
Parents also come to buy for their teenage children. Last year, e-scooters laws came into effect setting a minimum age requirement of 16 years for users. Pericho says he advises parents carefully on what they are buying their children.
Sometimes, he says, parents come in seeking a high-powered vehicle for their teenager, mistaking it for a regular e-bike. A common example is the Surron electric bike, which Pericho does not sell, describing it as “the exact same as a scrambler”.
“A problem that retailers are having in Ireland is drop shipping,” Pericho says. “If you look up ‘electric bikes in Ireland’ you’ll see a number of retailers. If you look further into them, they don’t have a premises.
“So, with drop shipping, a 12- or 13-year-old can go online and buy the most powerful scooter or e-bike [they can find], and get it shipped to them from a warehouse in Europe.”
Both Pericho and Murphy hope to see an increase in electric bike and scooter safety initiatives appearing around the country.
