Electric scooters see 89 ACC claims in 25 days but other scooters amount to more than 500

25 days since Lime E Scooters were launched in Christchurch and Auckland and the latest ACC claims show there have been 89 injuries by electric scooters in that time. Photo / Jason Oxenham.

It has been 25 days since Lime E Scooters were launched in Christchurch and Auckland and the latest ACC claims show there have been 89 injuries by electric scooters in that time.

But claims for foot powered scooters in the same time period is 567.

Since the launch of the Lime E-Scooters on October 14 there have been 89 ACC claims for electric scooters.

57 of those claims came from Auckland and 32 claims were from Christchurch city.

The most common type of injury was by puncture/laceration, soft tissue injury and fracture/dislocation.

In that same time period non-electric scooters accounted for 567 claims across Auckland, 171, Christchurch, 61, and the rest of New Zealand, 337.

It comes as the San Francisco based company Lime plans to roll out a $3m safety campaign that would see 25,000 helmets given for free to applicants.

"The first 25,000 riders to sign the pledge will receive free Lime helmets in the mail for showing their support.

"Over the next six months, we will be distributing a total of over 250,000 free helmets to riders across the globe."

By signing the pledge Lime riders agreed to ride responsibly at all times, wear a helmet while riding, abide by all traffic laws and speed limits, ride only within designated areas such as streets and bike lanes.

Also to "park properly out of the way of pedestrian walkways, service ramps and metro stops and be aware of automobiles, pedestrians and fellow riders".

Auckland Mayor Goff requested a memo from council on the safety and rules of the new e-scooters after Councillor Christine Fletcher said she "came within an inch of being taken out".

Council came back with an eight-page document called 'briefing on Lime Scooters'.

The memo said Council should "proactively" gather data at peak times could be a quick way to get "a better understanding of the nature and the scale of the problem".

In the first week Lime e-scooters were trialled in Auckland and Christchurch, 700 scooters were ridden 40,000 times.

As with the emergence of other modes," said the memo, "experience shows there are initial peaks in safety incidents." It was true for "roller skates in the 1960s and the resurgence of skateboards in the 1980s" and of "bicycles in the 1800s".

ACC claims for e-scooters and other scooters

Auckland: 57 - Electric (171 Other)

Christchurch: 32 (61)

Rest of New Zealand: Less than four (337)

E-Scooter and other scooter injury types

Laceration/Puncture: 37 (194)

Soft tissue injury: 34 (242)

Fracture/Dislocation: 18 (86)

Concussion: Less than four (12)

Dental Injury: 0 (20)

Burns: 0 (Less than four)

Foreign body in orifice/eye: 0 (Less than four)