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DENVER – Even though the electric scooters have been in the city of Denver for several months, a lot of people are still confused over the rules when it comes to riding them.
An example is Eric Lazzari who rides a scooter every day.
“I was attacked over some confusion on where I’m allowed to ride them,” Lazzari said. “I was riding on the scooter, and then encountered a pedestrian who felt in his heart of hearts that the scooter should be on the streets. Then I told him I was supposed to be on the sidewalk. Then he went up to me and told me he was going to teach me a lesson.”
Lazzari said the man proceeded to slap him on the back of the head.
“It didn’t really hurt,” Lazzari said. “I was just more in shock about him hitting me over this.”
According to Denver Public Works, the state and local law said that scooters are classified as toy vehicles and are restricted to sidewalks.
Denver7 has noticed that people are getting annoyed with some scooter riders, and some scooter riders aren’t aware of some of the rules when it comes to using the scooters.
Denver7 has witnessed riders in bike lanes and on the roads.
According to city officials, the city is researching the law and are looking for a way to legalize the use of scooters in bike lanes.
According to James Waddell, the executive director for Bike Denver, most of the cycling community isn’t opposed to scooter riders in the bike lane.
“It’s causing a lot of conflict, and rightly so,” Waddell said. “The scooters should probably not be on the sidewalks. I think they should be in the bike lanes. They go just as fast as some bike riders and could be dangerous on the sidewalks. I just wish they would go in the right direction in the bike lane.”
The companies Bird, Lyft and Lime have 750 scooters in Denver.
250 scooters were deployed by Jump.
