The explanation I received for the scooter cutting all power in the middle of a busy street (where I assume you foresee there would be inevitable oncoming traffic) was unsatisfactory. I understand that app displays a map of “red zones” in which riders are instructed not to venture, which was reviewed prior to the ride.
However, upon activating the scooter, the map presented to the rider only shows the immediate area. I do not think it’s reasonable for your company to assume that a rider would only limit their ride to the (approximately) 200 or so yards depicted on the mobile application map that appears when a rider agrees to the ride and actives the scooter. Further, I assume (because it’s happened to me before) that the scooter will “chirp” at the rider if and alert them if they are approaching said zones.
As one cannot safely operate a scooter and look at your map via the cell phone app simultaneously, it is unreasonable and dangerous for you to assume that they would independently or intuitively know when they are approaching a “red zone”, at which point your company has predetermined the to cut off power and the ability for the rider to maintain forward motion at a reasonably safe speed.
Given that you clearly have the technology to both monitor the exact GPS location of the scooter and alert riders based on said location, I think it is more than reasonable and sensible for your scooters to give riders some type of auditory warning that would prevent them from riding into an area in which a rider could foreseeably venture through, for example, a busy intersection which your devices (at the time of the activation of said limitation) knows exactly when and where the device will fail, leaving its unassuming rider in the middle of oncoming traffic.
I surmise that your company has entered into certain agreements with local governments, at their request or insistence, to limit riders to certain areas where allowing scooter use in certain areas is or is believed to be a nuisance or safety hazards. While this, with the appropriate application, may be justifiable and reasonable, the fact remains that should a scooter disable itself, without warning, when a rider is crossing a street that is a public thoroughfare, which happens to abut said certain restricted areas, is absolutely a serious safety risk for the riders and the public.
PLEASE TAKE THIS UNDER CONSIDERATION. In the practically inevitable likelihood that someone was severely injured or killed due to this new limitation re certain areas, your company will face liability in the range of $7-8 figures if such facts were presented to a jury by myself (as a lawyer who represents injury victims by trade) or a competent colleague.