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A petition calling for Lime e-scooters to be recalled - like any other defective product is being taken to Wellington by Dunedin writer Dr Lynley Hood.
Dr Hood is the co-convener of the Dunedin Pedestrian Action Network and a trustee of the Visual Impairment Charitable Trust Aotearoa (Victa).
Speaking during the public forum at the start of today's Dunedin City Council infrastructure services and networks committee meeting, Dr Hood questioned whether the council had been "conned by a snake-oil salesman" into allowing e-scooters on city streets.
They were permitted to operate on footpaths, despite concerns about their "frightening speed" and the potential for faulty brakes, suspension and other inadequate safety features, she said.
In the United States, Lime was rolling out a new models with improved features, but not in New Zealand, where people were being used as "crash-test dummies", she said.
The city needed to ensure its footpaths were safe spaces for all, meaning e-scooters needed to be forced off footpaths, on to cycleways, and their riders encouraged to operate them with courtesy and respect.
But the city also needed more time to plan for their future use, Dr Hood believed.
To achieve this, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) could initiate a compulsory product recall - on the basis the devices could cause injury to people _ to remove them until issues were resolved.
She was circulating a petition calling on Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Chris Faafoi to do just that, and urged councillors to sign it.
Her move came after a spike in minor and more serious injuries followed the introduction of Lime scooters in Dunedin and other centres.
That included 26-year-old Californian woman Renee Whitehouse, who received serious head injuries after being struck by a truck while riding a scooter home from work at an Octagon bar at 1.45am.
She was not wearing a helmet and was believed to have run a red light before the accident.