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Planning to buy a new scooter for your child but worried about his/her safety? Here are six reasons why an electric scooter might just ease your worries.
1. They can't go too fast
Electric scooters are painfully slow. Hero Photon is currently the fastest electric scooter available in India and even in it, no matter how much you crouch, you won’t be able to go faster than 45kmph. Knowing that your child will have to abide by the speed rules is sure to buy you peace of mind.
2. You can ground them by hiding the charger!
When I was a kid, I always had extra pencil cells lying around in my drawer so that I could use them every time my parents hid the batteries of the TV’s remote control. Though unlike pencil cells cell or even phone chargers, you cannot just go and borrow an electric scooter’s charger from your neighbour or your friend. Also as these chargers are pretty expensive, it is very unlikely that your child has an extra unit lying around in his drawer. So every time your child gets impish or unruly, just threatening to confiscate the scooter’s charger might buy you some leverage!
3. They can't sneak out at night.
While your kids just have to snitch the keys to get access to a normal petrol-powered scooter, things won’t be as easy in case of an electric scooter. If electric scooters are used during day time, it means that they’ll have to spend most of the night time plugged into a wall socket. Hence you need not spend sleepless nights wondering if your child is still in his room or if he has sneaked out for some friend’s midnight birthday party.
4. They can't go too far
Electric scooters in India are still in a nascent stage, which means that they have a very limited range. Even the Photon, in its Economy mode (which limits the top speed at 25kmph), has a range of just under 80kms. This means that there is just enough juice in the battery for your children to complete their daily college and coaching classes run, with some extra charge left over for a few errands. This means that you don’t have to keep a track of the odometer reading to track whether your child has been wandering off in between, as the limited range means that your child will have to return back home.
5. No pocket money for fuel!
You no longer have to give special allowances to your child for petrol as the only bit of fuel required for an electric scooter comes from a domestic wall socket. So you no longer have to worry about whether your child has been siphoning off the fuel money for something else.
6. No need for a licence and no hassles from traffic cops!
A majority of electric scooters sold in India are capped at 25kmph, which means that it is legal to ride them without a rider’s licence. This means that your children don’t have to worry about being hassled by traffic cops for forgetting their driver’s license at home.
While getting an electric scooter for your child might buy you peace of mind, you have to remember that while riding, safety is second to nothing. Ensure that your child is well aware of traffic rules and that he/she always wears a helmet while riding, no matter how slow they are planning to ride.
