Scooter driver wipes out on camera with Boston’s crackdown underway

Boston 25 News was rolling on Friday afternoon when a scooter driver wiped on Boylston and Dartmouth in busy Copley Square.

It happened as we were working on a follow-up report about the city’s crackdown on dangerous scooter and moped activity.

Three major food delivery companies were put on notice back on Monday and given until Friday to respond to six safety-related questions.

Boston 25 News observed less scooters and mopeds without plates breaking the law compared to Monday.

However, we still saw dozens of scooter and moped drivers running red lights, going the wrong way down one-way streets and using their phones while driving.

“You can’t go around driving through the streets of Boston like this is the Wild West,” said Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn. “We need enforcement, and we need to arrest them.”

The unruly presence of scooters and mopeds has been a top complaint not only for drivers and bicyclists but also for businesses in the Back Bay.

“We call the police sometimes multiple times per day and it didn’t seem like anything was getting done,” said Mark Samara with American Academy of Personal Training.

Samara said the lawlessness has steered some clients away from the gym and personal training studio he works at on Boylston Street.

“They have been partying on the sidewalk and playing loud music. A lot of our clients were hesitant to come in for their sessions,” he explained.

State police impounded 14 illegal scooters and mopeds in the nearby Fenway neighborhood this week.

According to city officials, the crackdown on unlicensed drivers and unregistered scooters and mopeds has just begun.

“We need these vehicles to be properly licensed and registered,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. “The companies have to be responsible for the behavior we are seeing as well.”

Boston 25 News reached out to DoorDash, Uber and GrubHub.

“The overwhelmingly Dashers do the right thing and like all drivers must follow the rules of the road. If they don’t, then they face consequences — just like anyone else,” said a statement from a DoorDash spokesperson.

Uber has not commented.

A GrubHub spokesperson sent the following statement to Boston 25 News:

“We welcome the opportunity to continue our work with the City of Boston and its Police Department to improve the delivery experience for restaurants, delivery partners, and diners. To deliver with Grubhub, our delivery partners agree to obey all local traffic laws. While enforcement of the law is best handled by the police, we take safety seriously, and any reports of unsafe driving will result in removal from our platform.”

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