Police Minister Reece Whitby says ‘we need to do better’ as police crackdown on e-scooters after death

The State Government has denied police have failed to enforce the rules around e-scooters but admitted “we must do better”. Police and Road Safety Minister Reece Whitby spoke as police prepared to carry out a weekend safety blitz in the Perth CBD after the death of Than Phan, who was allegedly struck by an e-scooter travelling at speeds of up to 25kmh last Saturday. The City of Perth has suspended its hire program, resulting in the removal of up to 500 e-scooters this week, and the City of Vincent has put the brakes on its trial as well. On Friday night, police were handing out cards detailing the road rules to commuters riding their private e-scooters throughout Perth and Northbridge. “This is something that has always been in force, not just tonight, but over the past four years, so part of that would have been warnings and education, and part of it would have been issuing of infringements,” Mr Whitby said. “Now I believe that we need to go further. I’ve no doubt about that, we need to do better. “I want to look at new ways to enforce the laws around the e-rideables — I want to see what more we can be doing in terms of the time of day that people can use them, the speed that they can be used at, and where they can be used.” Police issued 303 infringements to adults on e-rideables in the first 10 months of last year and impounded 156 e-scooters. Just one rider under the age 18 was issued with a speeding infringement in the same period, while 14 were dished out to adults. The majority of the infringements have been given out to riders without helmets. Acting Senior Sergeant Andre Michalski said every e-scooter rider stopped by police this weekend will be breath tested. “If you are on a scooter, expect to be stopped by police,” he said. Mr Whitby said he would speak to police ministers from other States to see if the Federal Government can prevent the importation of e-scooters that can travel over the 25kmh e-rideable speed limit. Mr Phan, 51, died after he was allegedly struck on by British backpacker Alicia Kemp, who police claim was riding on an e-scooter along a footpath in Perth on Saturday night. Ms Kemp — who was riding a Neuron scooter at the time — has had her charge upgraded from dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm under the influence of alcohol, to dangerous driving occasioning death under the influence of alcohol following the pedestrian’s death. She will next face court on July 15 after her bail was refused. Paramedics have been called to more than 328 serious e-scooter crashes since the start of this year.