‘The price of a burrito’: KIRO hosts say Seattle’s meager fine won’t stop Lime takeovers as another planned for Saturday

A third Lime scooter takeover is planned for Saturday night in Seattle, with hundreds of riders expected to meet near the Pioneer Square Pergola on Yesler Way at 8 p.m., according to KUOW. The event follows two previous takeovers this month that flooded downtown streets with riders, most of them teens and young adults without helmets.

KIRO fill-in hosts Angela Poe Russell and Jim Dever said the city’s response isn’t matching the scale of the problem.

“The maximum fine for improper scooter riding and parking was only $20,” Russell said on “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “That’s the price of a burrito. And they increased it to $50, and I’m just like, guys. If they really want to deter it, they’re going to have to really make a penalty that counts.”

Lime has warned that participants caught in takeover events could be locked out of the platform. The Seattle Police Department told KUOW its message to riders is simple: “Please, please, please wear a helmet. Follow the laws, have a good time, and be safe.”

Dever says the safety risk is real as Lime takeover planned

Dever added that the takeovers aren’t just an annoyance. They’re dangerous.

“Yesterday I almost ran — I was just minding my own business, trying to leave an intersection — like four Lime scooters with kids on them, who just like changed their mind on which direction they were going at the last second, pulled right in front of me,” he said. “I had to hit the brakes. And of course none of them were wearing helmets.”

Dever pointed to a solution he had seen in Vancouver, B.C., where helmets are attached to scooters with disposable, sanitary liners.

“There’s got to be there has to be a solution to the no helmet thing because it’s an epidemic of head trauma, and we don’t want people dealing with that for the rest of their lives,” he said.

Russell is torn between safety and seeing kids off their phones

Russell acknowledged the tension between wanting young people to be safe and being glad they’re socializing in person.

“I have to admit, as much as I don’t like the idea of it, I do like the idea that teens and young adults are meeting in person and they’re getting off their phones,” Russell said. “But be safe. Wear your helmet and get off the sidewalks and stop breaking the rules.”

Dever agreed but said the reality on the ground is too risky to romanticize.

“If they weren’t in the street that I’m trying to use, then I wouldn’t have a lot to say about it,” Dever said. “But they’re not going off to some field somewhere. They’re actually putting themselves in a lot of danger. Kids don’t really realize that roads are very dangerous places.”

The social media-organized takeovers have also popped up in Minneapolis and Omaha this summer, according to KUOW.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to John Curley weekday afternoons from 3 – 7 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to John Curley weekday afternoons from 3 – 7 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

Follow @https://twitter.com/jcurleyshow