YouTuber makes car from banned e-scooters
10/25/2024 05:00 PM
A YouTuber has attempted to tackle the rising number of e-scooter injuries by building a car from them.
Los Angeles-based You Tuber Michael Reeves has joined four rental e-scooters together with a frame to create a car he satirically says will reduce the number of accidents and subsequent injuries suffered by users.
Reeves, who has built a following making 'comedy tech' content, said on his YouTube channel the inspiration came from visiting a friend in a hospital emergency department who'd broken their wrist in an e-scooter accident.
"How can we make electric scooters easier to use – and safer?," he asked on his YouTube channel, which has 7.45 million subscribers.
The Lime rental e-scooters used in Reeves' clip were banned in Melbourne‘s CBD in September 2024, after a spike in injuries and perceived increase in public endangerment.
That came only weeks after research showed injuries from e-scooter accidents nearly doubled in two years in Queensland alone.
The 'Scooter Car' is the answer to making scooting safe, according to Reeves.
"This invention takes all the risk out of riding these dangerous, demonic scooters. No longer do you need the requisite skill to stay upright on one – a talent few in our society possess."
The inventor used four Lime e-scooters and used a Nintendo Wii gaming console steering wheel – with a wireless connection – in order to use the individual throttle of all four scooters.
Reeves pointed out the e-scooters were rentals – meaning he did not own them, and was therefore limited in the nature of modifications he could make.
It included a system to 'push off' in order to start – complete with sneaker shoe – just as a regular user would use their leg to get moving on an e-scooter.
He also had to limit the steering of each scooter in order for the single 'scooter car' to turn around corners – the final version using the front two scooters to turn with the rear pair's steering remaining fixed.
Using the Nintendo steering wheel controller, Reeves demonstrated it could even be driven remotely from outside the car – perhaps his answer to Tesla's Actually Smart Summon feature.
The true test came on Los Angeles' public roads and when Reeves was successfully served at a Burger King fast food restaurant – something e-scooter riders can only dream of.
Of course the entire project is done in jest, with his injured friend saying in the YouTube clip: "This thing looks more dangerous!".
Some of Reeves' other clips include 'I Gave My Goldfish $50,000 to Trade Stocks' and 'Scream Powered Microwave'.
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