I suspect you haven't spend time on the sidewalk with scooters whizzing around you. They are not safe, and cannot be (on the sidewalk).
Pedestrians do not have lanes. When I step around the dog crap in front of me, I could be hit be a scooter operator not giving me enough space for my maneuver.
> They are not safe, and cannot be (on the sidewalk)
This is a strange thing to say. It's clearly false, and the alternative (putting them on the road) is clearly less safe.
I do think that the current model where Bird etc allow new users to jump on and go is problematic. It will probably work fine in the future when everybody knows how you are expected to ride them (i.e. full speed on the foot path is not cool), but at the moment things are a bit of a free for all. There's too much excitement when you get on for the first time, and no experienced riders to cool you down.
You are trading your safety for mine. You are lying to yourself if you think all scooter operators will be like you, and slow to walking pace when they go around pedestrians. I literally have 500+ data points, and I've seen it like 1 or 2 times. And then, it was only because there wasn't a straight line through the pedestrians because there was a crowd of them.
Pedestrians do not have lanes. When I step around the dog crap in front of me, I could be hit be a scooter operator not giving me enough space for my maneuver.