Paris scooter rider killed after lorry crash

June 12, 2019 | 08:22

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A man in his twenties has died in Paris after his electric scooter collided with a lorry, sources said on Tuesday (Jun 11), amid growing concern over the safety of the increasingly popular contraptions in the French capital.

paris scooter rider killed after lorry crash

Electric scooters are pictured near the Eiffel Tower on Dec 13, 2018 in Paris. (Photo: AFP/Lionel Bonaventure)

The man, 25, was riding the scooter in the bustling Goutte d'Or neighbourhood in the north of the city when he hit the lorry.

He was rushed to hospital where he died of his wounds, the Paris emergency services said.

The driver of the lorry has been detained. A source close to the case, who asked not to be named, said that the lorry driver had priority on the road in the incident.

Just a year after they first appeared on the Paris streets, mushrooming electric scooters have become a gigantic headache for the Paris authorities who are now rushing to implement some kind of framework for their use.

City mayor Anne Hidalgo on Thursday announced a ban on parking electric scooters on the pavement and said their speed limit on roads should be 20kmh.

Paris has already introduced fines of 135 euros (US$150) for riding electic scooters on the pavement.

Fans have embraced scooters as a quick and cheap way to get around, since the "dockless" devices are unlocked with a phone app and can be left anywhere when a ride is finished.

But critics say they are a grave safety risk both for their users and pedestrians while scooters strewn randomly across the city have also become an eyesore.

According to French press reports, a man aged 81 died in April in Levallois-Perret outside Paris, days after being knocked over by an electric scooter.

AFP

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