:Duud

Dumb Laws Part 1: Electric Scooters in Victoria

The VicRoads page on scooters and wheeled recreational devices states:

If your motorised scooter:

is powered by a petrol motor

has an electric motor with a maximum power greater than 200 watts

has a maximum speed greater than 10 km/h

then it cannot be legally used on a road or any road related areas, including footpaths, share paths and public areas. The fine for an illegal device is $826. Other penalties may also apply.

All of the most popular models are capable of going well beyond that speed. As should any transportation device not intended for toddlers. For example the Segway Ninebot E25 and Xiaomi Mi 1S each list top speeds of 25 km/h.

The law is rarely enforced but why give police yet another excuse to discriminate?

Shoutout to the Economist

Not a TIL because I didn’t learn it today but Messrs is the plural form of Mr. I saw it in the Economist a while back and then Googled it…

Speaking of the Economist, I also didn’t know about state liquor monopolies in Colombia. I did know about chirrinchi and that it makes a potent mix with frutiño.