A young man has been seriously injured while riding a hired MonaBike, according to a report in local French-language daily Monaco Matin.
The victim lost control of the power-assisted bike while descending the Avenue d’Ostende hill towards Place Sainte-Devote. He was following another rider and moving at a “steady pace,” according to the police. The accident took place on September 16 and the 25 year-old catering worker remains in the Pasteur Hospital in Nice.
The Monaco authorities have said that there has been no noticeable trend towards accidents of this type, although several types of infraction have been noted, including the use of the cycles on pavements and disregard for traffic lights. Users must be over 16 years of age to hire one of the Principality’s 300 MonaBikes, but teenagers under that age have been known to use the identification of users over the minimum age, in which case they are uninsured.
More MonaBIke stations are due to be installed by the end of the year.