In the past few years, the popularity of electric scooters has grown immensely. This is because these gadgets are all about convenience. They make it easier for commuters to get to their destinations quickly and at an affordable rate.
An electric scooter offers you the opportunity to cut down your spending on gas and also offers you the opportunity to exercise on a daily basis. Using electric scooters allows you to reduce carbon emissions, reduce the amount of money you would spend on repairs, gas, and insurance for a car.
Scooters are way cheaper than cars and they do not need gas to operate. These vehicles operate on batteries that need to be charged after a few hours of use.
Riding an electric scooter costs the user less than a penny a mile. Additionally, these vehicles help you avoid traffic ties ups that can be very inconveniencing. Due to their compact sizes, it is easy for you to park your scooter in a space where a motorcycle or car would not fit.
The latest electric scooters by Lime provide riders with excellent safety and comfort. They are a combination of stability and maneuverability. Since these gadgets are classified as bikes in the majority of the countries, you are not required to have a license to ride one.
Earlier this year, Lime, one of the largest scooter companies in the world urged riders to exercise caution while operating its gadgets due to the presence of a technical bug. This bug, according to reports, was capable of causing excessive braking during use.
According to the company, this glitch would normally happen when the scooter is ridden downhill at top speed.
By and large, electric scooters have been hailed for helping progressive cities reach their smart transportation goals.
Speed limits for electric scooters around the world
According to reports, a glitch can cause an electric scooter to experience a sudden burst of speed that surpasses the speed limits that have been imposed on these vehicles. Most cities in the world have established regulations in regards to how fast electric scooters should move. For the majority of them, an electric scooter should travel at speeds between 10-15mph. Scooter companies also install speed limiters to these devices in order to ensure that they operate below the speed rates imposed by local authorities in different cities.
Following these reports, companies like Lime have taken the necessary steps in order to enhance the safety standards of their devices. This is also because the company has come to appreciate the fact that safety concerns about their products are a great hindrance to mass production; and ultimately, growth of the business.
Lime scooters are known to travel to speeds of up to 20mph. According to research, lime scooters are fitted with a 250-watt motor, which has a 20+ mile range. This allows them to go up to either 14.8 mph or 20mph.
Since most cities have electric scooter speed limits at 15mph or 24 km/h, the Lime-S travels at about 14.8mph. Due to an increased number of accidents, some fatal, involving electric scooters some cities have been working on reducing the speed limits for electric scooters in general.
In Brisbane, for example, local authorities are looking to reduce the speed limits for Lime scooters following a fatal crash down South Bank stairs. The deceased died of injuries shortly after arriving in the hospital.
If this action by local authorities in Brisbane is successful, the official speed limit for electric scooters will be 10Km/h instead of the current 24Km/h or 15mph.
The city of Paris has also not been immune to the e-scooter phenomenon. Over the past few years, there has been an increase in the number of scooters in the streets of Paris. City officials have been working towards curtailing the increase of these devices in the streets.
According to Paris city officials, while scooters are extremely useful to their riders, they have become a nuisance to non-riders. Paris city officials are looking to reduce electric scooter speed limits from 12mph or 20Km/h to 5mph/ 8km/h. This has not been taken well by the scooter riders’ community in the city.
In Washington D.C, the electric scooter speed limit has been set at 10mph. The city of Los Angeles has also put a speed limit on scooters. Rides are required to observe a speed limit of 12mph. most of the scooters that are used in the city reach speeds of up to 15 mph.
Part of the reason why local authorities are coming up with these rules is to regulate the number of scooters in the streets. In Los Angeles, there were calls to make a total ban on electric scooters until regulations were completed.
Lime-S models and their speeds
Lime’s most preferred vehicles are their electric scooters. Currently, there are four models in use around cities in the world. These models include:
- Lime-S generation 1
- Lime-S generation 2
- Lime-S generation 3
- Lime-S ninebot
The Lime-S ninebot is used in select locations of the world. This is partly because this model is a consumer product; and therefore, not best suited for the sharing industry.
This device by Segway has a top speed of 19miles per hour or 30Km/h. It also has 800w of power and can travel arrange of 28 miles or 48 Km. All scooters produced by Lime can reach speeds of up to 16mph or 25KM/h.
Conclusion
While all scooters produced by Lime reach speeds of up to 16mph, the speed upon which a ridder can travel is heavily influenced by his or her location or city by laws.
Some institutions such as the University of Texas have limited the speed of electric scooters to 8mph within their campuses. Be that as it may, the use of scooters has less risk compared to other modes of transport and it is also a safe and sustainable mode of transportation.
Lime as a company has been at the forefront in trying to reduce carbon emissions through the production of products that are environmentally friendly and affordable.