As I've said before, I actually consider the ban on them in this country very sensible, for the simple reasons that they will be used in place of walking and cycling, and because most people who haven't had extensive cycling experience are basically unable to safely control a two-wheeler like that at 20mph (or more). I'd trust experienced fast cyclists with that, but not people who've never cycled much.
Obviously, the high injury and death toll (so far) from these things (reported from all countries that I've looked at) may just be early adoption pains, but as of now I maintain that if they were to be licensed, people would have to undergo training to use them. As someone else said, it's just another form of motorisation, perhaps 'micro-' or 'mini-motorisation', and while that can have very good uses, e.g. for people with mobility difficulties, adoption by the wider population is most certainly not a desirable thing. There's no medical indication for most people, and while it's probably easier to carry around than a folding bike, for the vast majority of purposes cycling will be far, far better, both for the rider and their surroundings.
As I've said before, I actually consider the ban on them in this country very sensible, for the simple reasons that they will be used in place of walking and cycling, and because most people who haven't had extensive cycling experience are basically unable to safely control a two-wheeler like that at 20mph (or more). I'd trust experienced fast cyclists with that, but not people who've never cycled much.
Obviously, the high injury and death toll (so far) from these things (reported from all countries that I've looked at) may just be early adoption pains, but as of now I maintain that if they were to be licensed, people would have to undergo training to use them. As someone else said, it's just another form of motorisation, perhaps 'micro-' or 'mini-motorisation', and while that can have very good uses, e.g. for people with mobility difficulties, adoption by the wider population is most certainly not a desirable thing. There's no medical indication for most people, and while it's probably easier to carry around than a folding bike, for the vast majority of purposes cycling will be far, far better, both for the rider and their surroundings.