General News
8 December, 2025
E-scooters aren’t Allgood in Barkly Street
RECKLESS e-scooter riding is becoming an all-too-familiar sight in Ararat, according to local police. Sergeant Shane Allgood says officers are increasingly concerned by the behaviour of riders on the town’s footpaths and roads. He said the most common issue is riders using footpaths, despite the practice being illegal under Victorian road rules.
“As you would be aware, it is illegal to ride e-scooters on footpaths, but this is where we see the majority of e-scooter use in town,” Sergeant Allgood said.
“Often this behaviour is coupled with the rider travelling at a speed that will not provide them enough response time to avoid a collision should anything unexpected happen.”
He said pedestrians stepping out from shopfronts, residential gates or between parked cars were at particular risk.
“This is the reason that bicycles are also not permitted to be ridden on footpaths,” he said.
Sergeant Allgood said even on roads where e-scooters are permitted, such as shared-use paths and roads with a speed limit of 60 km/h or less, riders still face significant dangers in busy parts of Ararat.
“Riding an e-scooter in Barkly Street during business hours is fraught with danger,” he said.
“Pedestrians stepping out between parked vehicles and vehicles backing out of parking bays all present huge risk.”
He said the lack of noise produced by e-scooters meant they were often overlooked by pedestrians and motorists.
“The last thing pedestrians and motorists will be looking for would be an e-scooter, which submits nil noise, travelling around 20 km/h down the road,” he said.
Sergeant Allgood said e-scooters’ ability to manoeuvre sharply can also make riders unpredictable in traffic.
“In my experience, all too often the riders of e-scooters will change direction quickly, cutting across roads and footpaths at speed,” he said.
Sergeant Allgood's comments come as the Transport Accident Commission rolls out a new safety campaign focused on e-scooters, saying dangerous behaviour can have tragic consequences.
The Victorian Government strengthened e-scooter laws last year, including penalties for speeding, underage riding, riding on footpaths, riding without a helmet, carrying passengers and riding under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The TAC has relaunched its “If you think e-scooters are a toy, think again” campaign in the lead-up to Christmas.
The campaign includes a video featuring emergency department doctors who describe treating serious e-scooter injuries.
Last year five people died while riding e-scooters on Victorian roads.
One of those riders was aged under 16.
TAC chief executive Tracey Slatter said serious injuries involving underage riders were increasing.
“An increasing amount of road trauma is involving underage riders of e-scooters,” Ms Slatter said.
“This campaign will raise awareness of the high risk of serious injury resulting from this illegal behaviour.”
Penalties for breaking e-scooter laws are substantial, with the highest single fine set at $1018 for riding a non-compliant e-scooter, with devices capable of travelling faster than 25 km/h considered unregistered motor vehicles.
Other significant penalties include $611 for using a handheld mobile phone while riding, while a $509 fine applies for failing to obey traffic lights.
Read More: Ararat