Latest news with #escooter
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Tragedy as groom is killed 48 hours before his wedding in horror e-scooter crash - as heartbroken family pay tribute to 'life and soul of the party'
A groom-to-be was killed in a horror e-scooter crash just 48 hours before his wedding. Scott Catton, 54, was fatally injured after he collided with a car door which opened as he rode along the street in Top Valley, Nottingham, last Thursday. The father-of-one was rushed to hospital, suffering with broken ribs, a broken collarbone and a severe brain bleed, his family said. Despite the efforts of medics, the father-of-one passed away from his injuries at Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre on Saturday. Tragically, Scott had been due to tie the knot with fiancée Debi on Monday and they were due to jet off on their honeymoon to Majorca today. But instead, his heartbroken family are now raising funds to help pay for funeral costs 'to give him the send off he deserves'. Over £5,700 has been raised so far towards a £7,500 target, with any remaining set to be put into trust for Scott's 13-year-old son. His brother in-law Philip Bates 56 described Scott 'as the life and soul of the party' and was a huge football, cricket and boxing fan. Philip said: 'He was on his way home and on an electric scooter, someone opened a car door and he just hit it. 'He broke ribs, his collarbone and had a severe brain bleed. We went straight to the hospital where we spent most of the weekend. 'He was supposed to get married at Arnold Registry Office at 2pm yesterday. They were going to Majorca, they were supposed to fly out today. 'It's horrendous. It's never a good time, but this is the worst time though. He was the life and soul of the party, everyone loved him. 'He was a cheeky chap. He was massively into his sports and we both played football. He played for local teams, and played at veterans level. He loved his cricket and boxing. 'He went to Wembley to watch England and he recently went to watch the Eubank vs Benn fight. He was Nottingham Forest mad too. 'Because he wasn't married he's got money himself. To get it released is a long process, so the main aim is to pay for the funeral and take the strain off of his partner and give any money left over to his son. 'The main reason is to help his son out and give him something.' Philip has set up a Gofundme to help cover funeral costs and to set up a trust for retired-EON advisor Scott's 13-year-old son. In response to the funds raised so far, the family said: 'We are truly humbled and grateful for all your generosity. It just shows how loved Scott was. 'I will keep the fund raising going to help Scott's son. 'Massive thanks to everyone who has donated and a special thanks to the Park Tavern and the Oxford public house who are organising fundraising events.' Nottinghamshire Police said officers were investigating the incident but were unable to provide any more information at this stage. A spokesperson for East Midlands Ambulance Service said: 'We received a call at 7.06pm on Thursday 5 June to Ridgeway Walk in Top Valley. 'The caller reported that there had been a road traffic collision. 'We sent two ambulances, and one patient was taken to Queen's Medical Centre via ambulance.'
CTV News
6 days ago
- Automotive
- CTV News
E-bikes prove popular in Halifax while raising concerns for advocacy group
Bird Canada has brought 300 e-scooters and 200 e-bikes to the Halifax region and says in the first 20 days these devices have received more usage here than when the company first introduced them to other cities. Austin Spademan with Bird Canada even says it's 'record breaking' in terms of initial usage. 'We have already clocked over 24,000 kilometers, which is crazy, and across 3,600 Haligonians have used our service. They are riding an average of 2.36 rides per rider,' says Spademan. 'I think it's great to have more active transportation options,' says Alex Setchell, a Halifax resident. Bird Canada, a Canadian company, has a goal of getting people out of their vehicles. 'Both e-scooters and e-bikes are important tools in the tool kits to give people compelling alternatives to either get straight from where they live to run errands within the community or more importantly connect more with other transit options to completely decouple from completely needing a car to get from point A to point B,' says Spademan. Brynn Budden, public affairs advisor with the Halifax Regional Municipality, says the pilot projects for the e-scooters and e-bikes aim to provide mobility options to residents. 'The system is designed to be affordable and easy to use for both residents and visitors and will complement other existing modes of transportation including Halifax Transit,' says Budden. Bird Canada hopes to grow north of Highway 102 and into Burnside, but for now they are taking things slow. 'We have entered a smaller operating area more, it mainly covers downtown and a few other main areas that are those flex flare zones that I mentioned that we built with the United Way. We are going to grow from here with fleet increases over time as the usage dictates that we could use more vehicles. We are going to do this in partnership with HR,' says Spademan. Anyone can use them but there are rules. 'Definitely should be using the road and all the bike infrastructure, not the sidewalk. In fact, if you are riding on the sidewalk, we can tell,' says Spademan. The devices have sensors that can detect if it's in an area where it's not permitted. They also automatically reduce their speed in designated slow zones. There are consequences for riders who don't follow the guidelines. 'We may give you an email as a rider saying, 'Hey, you know, that's not allowed and you might get in trouble for it so do not be riding on the sidewalks,'' says Spademan. The CNIB Foundation feels those consequences are not enough, and it has concerned for visually-impaired people. 'CNIB has done a lot of advocacies nationwide with e-scooter companies as well as municipal officials and the issues seem to be persisting so I am planning on reaching out to the city to discuss the issue further,' says Shelley Adams, CNIB manager for Atlantic Canada. Tara Niecamp, strategic leadership council co-chair with CNIB, feels not everyone is going to follow the rules. 'For those cases where the policy is not enough, there needs to be really strict penalties, whether that comes down to a financial penalty or revoking of the account for those that don't follow the rules.' says Niecamp. 'For individuals with low vision or who are blind, it's not that easy. Walking, you may not see the device which means that you could trip and fall.' Bird Canada says when they introduced these devices in Ottawa, they worked with groups like the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and have developed a lot of features to make their products less of a potential conflict. 'A lot of that revolves around that parking technology I mentioned, just making sure when our devices are parked that they are out of the public right of way,' says Spademan. The CNIB wants people held accountable. 'The municipality needs to hold the e scooter companies accountable for that and in order to do that the municipality needs to have a system in place where they can track the e-scooters being improperly used,' says Niecamp. 'When you are living with a disability, you are encountering barriers constantly and it is requiring a lot of mental energy even to advocate and report them.' Some Halifax residents say they love the idea, but feel there are a few drawbacks. 'I love this idea of having more transportation options like that aren't vehicles in the city but it was way too expensive and it cost about $15 just to get from the commons down to the waterfront and it was pretty direct and I didn't have to wait a whole lot and also it's not a comfortable ride,' says Shannon Kam. 'The cost goes up pretty quickly if you don't think about it. It will be about $3 a minute sometimes, which is a lot, you know,' says Quinn Marnitz. The municipality admits the project is still in the early stages so components like parking locations and sidewalk detection technologies are still being fine-tuned. E-scooters Hundreds of e-scooters and e-bikes have arrived in Halifax. (Source: Emma Convey/CTV News Atlantic) For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Yahoo
Aussies warned over $1,161 fine after parents' shocking e-scooter act on city road
Many Australians are increasingly turning to e-scooters as a greener, more convenient way to get around, especially when it comes to avoiding traffic and parking hassles. But two users, who are ostensibly parents, were spotted in a shockingly dangerous act on the devices. The pair were seen riding with two young children standing in front of them on the scooters, in Cairns, Queensland on Monday, with neither child wearing a helmet. The risky ride has sparked concern and could land the adults in serious trouble, with multiple breaches of Queensland's e-scooter laws likely to apply. "Is this legal?" a worried bystander wrote online, sharing a photo of the family. "Adults have helmets on in case they fall off, but the two small children standing on the front have no helmets?" the bystander said. Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, a Queensland Police spokeswoman confirmed the scenario was in breach of several laws. "Children under 12 are not permitted to ride, everyone must wear a helmet, and there must only be one person on each device," she said. The spokeswoman pointed to several rules that the family likely had violated. E-scooters are classified as personal mobility devices and are strictly regulated to ensure public safety. According to Queensland Government rules, e-scooters are designed for one person only — carrying another passenger, even a small child, is not permitted and attracts a $161 fine. Similarly, all riders must wear a properly fastened helmet, with the same penalty applying for non-compliance. Riders must also be at least 16 years old, meaning another $161 fine is enforceable there. All up, that's $483. Riding dangerously or recklessly, which could include behaviours like carrying a child or not wearing a helmet, can lead to more serious fines of up to $1,161. The Cairns example comes as officers on the Gold Coast revealed they issued a whopping 25 traffic infringement notices during a blitz last Thursday targeting unsafe behaviour among users of personal mobility devices (PMDs), such as e-scooters and e-bikes. Seven of those fines were directly related to PMD and bike offences, including riding without a helmet, exceeding speed limits, riding in prohibited areas and allowing children under 10 to ride. Senior Sergeant Steve Young highlighted one alarming incident in which a 10-year-old was seen doing "wheelies" on the road with an e-scooter. "His mother was issued a fine after admitting she allowed him to use the device," he said. "We know these devices are popular and can be great for getting around – but they're not toys. They can be dangerous when used incorrectly or without proper safety gear. "Many riders were found to be doing the right thing, and we thank them," Young said. "But for those ignoring the rules, especially when it comes to helmets, speed, and age restrictions, we will continue to take action." Earlier this year, research suggested that the number of Aussies dying from e-scooter usage continues to rise across the country as the mode of transport surges in popularity. However, child fatalities are disproportionate to those of adults, and it is something authorities desperately want to end. "We've identified a shocking over-representation of children... the fatalities that involve children, the vast majority of them have occurred in collisions with other vehicles," Associate Professor Milad Haghani from the University of Melbourne said. In the last five years, 30 people have died while using e-scooters in Australia, and 11 of these have been children. Queensland has the highest number of e-scooter tragedies, with 15 deaths, while Western Australia and Victoria have experienced six each, NSW recorded two deaths and the ACT one. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Edmonton e-scooters have sent hundreds to emergency rooms
A recently published study shows 759 people were treated in Edmonton emergency rooms for e-scooter injuries from 2019 to 2021. Doctors and advocates say rider behaviour is mostly to blame.
CBC
18-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Edmonton e-scooters have sent hundreds to emergency rooms
A recently published study shows 759 people were treated in Edmonton emergency rooms for e-scooter injuries from 2019 to 2021. Doctors and advocates say rider behaviour is mostly to blame.
