Yeah, but scooter companies won't have a business without people riding them on the sidewalk, because riding them on the street is terrifying, and it's not possible that the companies don't know it.
They are not at all safe on a road, and if people aren't assholes, they are fine on the sidewalk. The problem is, people are assholes.
The only way to not be an asshole riding one on the sidewalk is to essentially not go faster than walking, at which point why bother?
A human powered scooter is perfectly fine on the sidewalk. Luxe used them for their staff to get around. I'd love to see a non-motorized docked scooter startup.
Not as bad as a motorized scooter but still not "perfectly fine".
I actually ride one, and have for about 2 years before this sharing became a mainstream thing. I expected this would happen and always tried to be super cautious when with pedestrians to avoid eventual regulation. I don't have a bell (although maybe I should for safety), but I think it is rude to ding people when essentially I'm on their turf. The advantage they offer if you travel at walking speeds around pedestrians is that there are often significant stretched with no pedestrians on a commute. Also there are parts where you can share a bike lane. In the CBD you are at general fast paced walking speed, but the percent of the journey is pretty low such that it is very efficient for me. Perhaps pedestrians see me as an a-hole though.