This is not the kind of record one would call home to brag about, but it was probably inevitable. One man from Queensland, Australia, has officially been handed the strongest penalty ever for speeding on an electric scooter.
The incident occurred two months ago, on a usually busy cyclepath in Queensland. Cyclist Scott Lewis was out on a ride when he filmed a man on a standing electric scooter whoosh past him at a great speed. He would later tell the local media that he was surprised to see the scooter rider again farther down the road, picking himself off the ground after one of his tires had burst.
Lewis asked the e-scooter ride if he had any idea how fast he was going, and was even more surprised to hear him casually admit to “94 [kph].” That’s almost 58.4 mph on an electric scooter, a speed that would have been illegal on the nearby motorway for a proper passenger car. The rider wasn’t wearing a helmet either, let alone the protection gear one usually puts on when stepping on an off-road two-wheeler.
Lewis handed over the recording to the police, and after two months, that rider has been duly punished.
Identified as a 36-year-old man who once worked with an e-scooter company, the rider was charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, after prosecutors ruled that the speed he was traveling at was too insane to qualify as speeding on an e-scooter. Outside court, he told 9News that he was technically doing half that speed when he passed Lewis, but he did hit it right before his tire burst.
He also expressed regret at his recklessness, but argued that he’d only sped on a portion of the road where there was no traffic, so he only endangered himself. He was handed the lowest sentence for a motoring offense, which is a six-month disqualification on his driver’s license, but only because he injured himself in the fall and the judge thought it was enough punishment as it was. He was also fired from the job he was rushing to when he got busted.
If you’re wondering what kind of machine the man was riding, wonder no more: it was a Dragon Warrior X11, a dual-motor off-road scooter that is only sold for off-road and private road use, because of its insane specs. Powered by two 3200 W motors, it tops out at 100 kph (62.2 mph) and is good for 85 to 100 km (63 to 62.2 miles) on a single charge.
The machine, described on the Australian retailer’s sight as a “MONSTER of an e-scooter,” usually retails for around AUD$5,500 (US$3,750 at the current exchange rate) and comes with the fine-print note that it is not street-legal. Not that this ever stopped anyone.
Lewis asked the e-scooter ride if he had any idea how fast he was going, and was even more surprised to hear him casually admit to “94 [kph].” That’s almost 58.4 mph on an electric scooter, a speed that would have been illegal on the nearby motorway for a proper passenger car. The rider wasn’t wearing a helmet either, let alone the protection gear one usually puts on when stepping on an off-road two-wheeler.
Lewis handed over the recording to the police, and after two months, that rider has been duly punished.
Identified as a 36-year-old man who once worked with an e-scooter company, the rider was charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, after prosecutors ruled that the speed he was traveling at was too insane to qualify as speeding on an e-scooter. Outside court, he told 9News that he was technically doing half that speed when he passed Lewis, but he did hit it right before his tire burst.
He also expressed regret at his recklessness, but argued that he’d only sped on a portion of the road where there was no traffic, so he only endangered himself. He was handed the lowest sentence for a motoring offense, which is a six-month disqualification on his driver’s license, but only because he injured himself in the fall and the judge thought it was enough punishment as it was. He was also fired from the job he was rushing to when he got busted.
If you’re wondering what kind of machine the man was riding, wonder no more: it was a Dragon Warrior X11, a dual-motor off-road scooter that is only sold for off-road and private road use, because of its insane specs. Powered by two 3200 W motors, it tops out at 100 kph (62.2 mph) and is good for 85 to 100 km (63 to 62.2 miles) on a single charge.
The machine, described on the Australian retailer’s sight as a “MONSTER of an e-scooter,” usually retails for around AUD$5,500 (US$3,750 at the current exchange rate) and comes with the fine-print note that it is not street-legal. Not that this ever stopped anyone.