Amazon pulls sale of e-scooters in Ireland – Murphy

A Fine Gael TD has called on all retailers to follow the lead of online giant, Amazon, and pull the sales of their e-scooters until they comply with the law.

Deputy Michael Murphy received confirmation from tech giant, Amazon, this weekend they have stopped selling an e-scooter which he highlighted earlier this week as not being in compliance with Irish legislation.

Deputy Murphy, who chairs the Oireachtas Transport Committee, was informed by the online platform this weekend that the electric foldable e-scooter has been removed from sale and an investigation is now underway at the online retail giant.

Deputy Murphy, who said retailers must take responsibility for how their market and sell e-scooters, has called on all retailers selling e-scooters, which are marketed at children or are capable of exceeding the legal speed limit, to remove them from sale on their platforms or shop floor.

“A child’s health and a person’s well being is far more important than any business profit margin,” the Tipperary Fine Gael TD said.

“I commend Amazon for the quick action taken. It displays responsibility and transparency from a business.

“I now call on all other retailers to follow suit and pull these e-scooters from being sold in their shops and online. Some of these are specifically marketed at children as young as six-years-old,” Deputy Murphy said.

On top of Amazon’s decision, another retailer aliexpress.com has also stopped selling an e-escooter after Deputy Murphy highlighted it on Thursday. It is now no longer for sale in Ireland[1].

“Two retailers have since taken action. But it isn’t enough,” he said.

“Others need to front up now and put people’s safety and the well-being of children first and pull the sale of these products[2]. Anything less is unacceptable,” he said.

“Other e-scooters are claimed to reach top speeds of 45km/h[3].”

E-scooter users must be at least 16 years of age, and devices used on public roads can’t exceed a design speed of 20 km/h.

A recent Children’s Health Ireland study showed there’s been a 50% increase in the number of children and young people admitted to hospital with traumatic brain injuries because of e-scooter incidents[4].

Deputy Murphy said he also awaited the outcome of a meeting between Tánaiste Simon Harris, the Taoiseach, relevant Ministers and the Garda Commissioner next week on the issue of e-scooters.

[1] https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005012011396355.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.6.6d5e5c5aPFmb6N&algo_pvid=7c343a5d-eba9-454e-a147-63b14d94687c&algo_exp_id=7c343a5d-eba9-454e-a147-63b14d94687c-9&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22order%22%3A%22-1%22%2C%22eval%22%3A%221%22%2C%22fromPage%22%3A%22search%22%7D&pdp_npi=6%40dis%21EUR%214184.63%214184.63%21%21%214674.00%214674.00%21%402103828617841086015684788e107a%2112000057265725423%21sea%21IE%210%21ABX%211%210%21n_tag%3A-29910%3Bd%3Affe66b10%3Bm03_new_user%3A-29895&curPageLogUid=zkcrKWJ3laUh&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A%7Cx_object_id%3A1005012011396355%7C_p_origin_prod%3A#nav-description

[2] https://www.smythstoys.com/ie/en-ie/outdoor/scooters/electric-scooters/gyro-h40-electric-scooter/p/249971

[3] https://innercityscooters.com/products/kugoo-g2-pro-new-model-electric-scooter?srsltid=AfmBOoqI3w4yw4n3A7nuEPlg50yXpMv3y9ShR_gTD3jBQAySaBSyVPVw

[4] https://www.childrenshealthireland.ie/news/e-scooters-are-the-leading-cause-of-traumatic-brain-injury-tbi-among-children-admitted-under-the-neurosurgery-and-rehabilitation-services-in-chi-at-temple-street-and-the-rate-of-admission-continues-to-rise/