"Gangs" of individuals riding electric scooters around Limerick City are "ignoring the rules of the road" and "intimidating" locals, according to the former Mayor.
In recent years, electric ride-on scooters – commonly known as 'e-bikes' – have seen a rise in popularity, particularly amongst city dwellers.
Any e-bike that exceeds 25 kilometres per hour is required to be registered, taxed and insured in Ireland.
According to former Limerick Mayor Cllr Daniel Butler, individuals using these motorised scooters often exceed the speed limit and "overtake vehicles going 50km or 60km an hour."
On Newstalk Breakfast, Cllr Butler said this is "something that's going on up and down in the country."
'Gangs'
E-bikes that are powered by a throttle, rather than a peddle, are illegal, the former Mayor told the show.
"What we're seeing is them going around in gangs, ignoring the rules of the road, going against traffic, going across traffic, up on the footpath at high speeds, and with their faces covered as well," he said.
"It seems to be a phenomenon since COVID that we have these groups of individuals that can go around on e-bikes, with their face covered, in open-day.
"Anybody that comes across it would be very intimidated when they see groups of mainly young men with their faces completely covered in the middle of summer.
"It's not like it's cold – it's for only one particular purpose and that is to hide their faces for whatever they may be up to, which is normally, at the very minimum, antisocial behaviour.
"Face coverings for religious purposes obviously should be permitted, or for medical purposes, but outside of that, why are these individuals covering up their faces?"
Regulation
Cllr Butler said he has contacted the Department of Justice and Transport to call for further regulation of the e-bikes.
"I would expect that any bikes that are going past these speeds – the requirement is they're taxed and insured," he said.
"That means the Gardaí should be empowered to be able to see them immediately.
"There needs to be regulation around the sale of them because obviously somebody's selling them and making money out of these vehicles."
