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‘I felt my spine and body split’: the woman who was hit by a child on a Lime bike – and denied compensation

⁨26⁩ ⁨likes⁩

Submitted ⁨⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨Karouell@lemmy.world⁩ to ⁨unitedkingdom@feddit.uk⁩

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/07/i-felt-my-spine-and-body-split-the-woman-who-was-hit-by-a-child-on-a-lime-bike-and-denied-compensation

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Comments

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  • Korhaka@sopuli.xyz ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    If someone hit me with their car I wouldn’t go to BMW for compensation.

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    • Pipster@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      I think the argument here is out of negligence on Lime’s part as they aren’t the manufacturer, they rent these to people. Like why does the bike even work if not part of an ‘active ride’? Surely it should be locked down and the electric motor shouldn’t work, making sure that you can be more certain that you always have the details of the renter for insurance reasons exactly for this kind of incident.

      There are a lot of things that I think need more regulation for these things, I nearly had somebody hit me the other day on a pedestrian crossing and had similar situations with hired electric scooters in the past. Things like:

      • powered riding should not be possible if the renter (having provided ID etc.) is not present - some kind of phone proximity or re-verification after a period of inactivity
      • the excessive weight and speed of these bikes is really dangerous given how often they are used by inexperienced riders who ride on the pavement with pedestrians and not on the roads. Being hit by an idiot on a rented pedal bike is one thing, this is quite another thing
      • a speed/power limit is already activated in certain areas, they should also detect (by front facing camera or something) if the bike is being ridden off the road, to reduce the impact of collisions

      I can’t blame her for trying to go after Lime, what else is she meant to do seeing as the kid disappeared? She suffered really quite awful injuries. Had Lime had mechanisms in place to prevent unauthorised riders or limit speed and power then this wouldnt have happened. Yes we can blame lack of regulation but I don’t think that should absolve them of their responsibilities.

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      • Korhaka@sopuli.xyz ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        That all sounds like theft protection kinda stuff. If lime doesn’t want to protect their stuff who are we to care?

        You can also just buy an ebike and use it just the same so why would restrictive regulation on lime make a difference there?

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  • Armand1@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    I don’t really see how it’s Lime’s fault that someone rode their bike into someone else. It didn’t malfunction from the sound of it.

    Some compensation from the mother + child would be good, but I don’t know how much money they could even reasonably give.

    More bikes in cities is usually better, but it does come with some risks of you’re acting like a moron. Less than cars but still.

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    • stoy@lemmy.zip ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      I can see the argument.

      I am a Swede, and will make a comparison to Swedish law, I don’t know if this law is the same in the UK butnit makes sense.

      Here you have a legal requirement to make sure that no unauthorized person is able to drive your car, leaving the keys in the car and walking away is illegal.

      I can see the argument that Lime failed to secure their scooters against use by unauthorized use well enough.

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      • Armand1@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        These are pedal bikes no? We have no license needed for those or restrictrions on who can use them that I’m aware of.

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  • tenebrisnox@feddit.uk ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    I’m going to sound like an old person but: What was a 10 year old doing on their own in central London (let alone how did a 10 year old manage to steal an ebike)?

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    • mjr@infosec.pub ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Well the streets are pretty safe!

      The “how did they steal it” is probably by copying someone they saw. There’s enough hire bikes being ridden around with the locks clicking away or alarms beeping after being forced that it’s probably not much of a secret any more.

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