Support The Crespogram

When you hear Commissioner "Sellout" wax enthusiastically at tomorrow's Commission meeting about how great these scooters are, and how they will meet the need for "First Mile/Last Mile," and all the other crap he'll be throwing against the wall to try and make these dangerous vehicles sound like a perfect solution for people who don't want to walk, remember one thing, these scooters will be rented by morons and people who don't give a flying fuck about laws, street signs, or anything else other than their own sense of self-entitlement, which is why the above video really tells you all you need to know about the future of electric scooters in Miami.

I watched the guys on these scooters use their credit cards, rent the scooters, ride them down the sidewalk to the street crossing, and then immediately go the wrong way up a one way street.

For every person that Russell claims will follow the rules, there will be two or three self-entitled morons like these guys who figure that they can do whatever they want, and as this story that appeared on the CNN website a couple weeks ago explains, when people get on these scooters, they, and you, are basically on their own.

It's true that these companies are required to have insurance, and while the the city has made sure to cover their ass with an all encompassing  "indemnification agreement," the one glaring item that's missing from the backup that should have accompanied this draft ordinance are copies of the Rider's Rental Agreement from any of these companies because this draft ordinance pretty much absolves all of these companies from any and all responsibility for what happens if some moron runs into you.

The city's only concern is to cover their ass if someone decides to go after them for allowing these scooters on the streets of Miami, and they really show no concern for the average citizen who might be injured as a result of these scooters being on the sidewalks and streets of Miami.

You can, and should read BIRD''s agreement HERE, because you will see that the people riding these scooters on public sidewalks and streets will be doing so without any requirement to have a dollar's worth of insurance.

In conjunction with this problem, is another problem that conveniently didn't get the specific attention that it deserves, and underscores that this ordinance was not really written with the citizens who will find themselves on the sidewalks with these scooters in anyone's mind.

Here is a portion of the ordinance that deals with Section 8-14, the "Operation" of the scooters.  I have highlighted portion M.

TOMORROW IS COMMISSIONER "SELLOUT" RUSSELL'S BIG DAY BECAUSE IT'S THE DAY HE GETS TO SPONSOR THE ORDINANCE THAT WILL ALLOW THE PLACEMENT OF ELECTRIC SCOOTERS ON THE STREETS OF HIS DISTRICT, AND HIS PANTIES ARE AS MOIST AS A TEENAGE GIRL GOING TO A DRAKE CONCERT

NUMBER 89  -  SEPTEMBER 13, 2018




Yes, each scooter will be required to have a "unique identification number," but it doesn't have any requirements where, or how big those numbers have to be, and if you get sideswiped by one of these scooters, and the number is on the handle bars in 1 inch type, it won't do you much good, if the rider just keeps going.

At the very least these scooters should have a "license tag" of some sort that is clearly visible, and the number readable at some reasonable distance.

I'm sure that I'll be back with more when this ordinance comes back for a 2nd reading, but for now keep in mind that in my first story about how these companies came to put their scooters on the streets of Miami to begin with, I detailed how the guys who run these companies behaved like gangsters, and who haven't really changed their business model, so much as they found a pliable and useful suck-up in Commissioner Ken "Sellout" Russell.

THE CITY COMMISSION WANTS TO ABOLISH MSEA AT TOMORROW'S COMMISSION MEETING, BUT THAT HASN'T STOPPED CHALK AIRLINES FROM SLAPPING THE CITY WITH A 2ND LAWSUIT

Chalk Airlines which has had a litigious relationship over the last few years  with the city about their lease, filed a new lawsuit on the eve of tomorrow's Commission meeting. It makes for interesting reading, and ties in with the lawsuit filed by current/former? MSEA Executive Director Lourdes Blanco. See my story about that HERE.

THE SOCCER STADIUM REFERENDUM LAWSUIT CONTINUES

Given the latest lawsuit filed by Joe Carollo against Francis Suarez over the Strong Mayor referendum issue, plus the lawsuits above against the city over MSEA, and the current appeal of the Flagstone/Island Garden's lawsuit, you might be forgiven if you forgot about the lawsuit against the Beckham Soccer Stadium referendum issue.

This is to let you know that that lawsuit is alive and well, and headed for the 3rd DCA.  Below is a copy of Doug Muir's motion for a rehearing by Circuit Court Judge Reemberto Diaz, and the Notice of Appeal to the 3rd DCA when Diaz denied the motion for a rehearing.

Don't count this lawsuit out.