Boy, 14, badly hurt in scooter crash could get points on licence
ATEENAGE boy who suffered a broken leg and wrist in a shocking e-scooter crash was told he could face points on his driving licence if taken to court.
Jamie, who is just 14, was rushed to hospital after he was hit by a taxi while riding his e-scooter in Pilsworth Road, Heywood, on August 24.
The teenager suffered a broken leg and wrist and now has to live with a metal bar in his leg while he recovers
But his devastated mum, Denise Carroll, was told her son could get points on his driving licence if taken to court - despite the fact he is three years away from being able to apply for one.
She was also told the taxi driver who hit her youngster will have no action taken against him.
“Prosecution will likely result in points being added to their licence which will become ‘live’ once they apply aged 17 for a provisional licence,” she was told in an email by police.
“The taxi driver would have mitigation in that the e-scooter should not have been on the road.”
Laws state a driving licence is required to ride motorised scooters on public roads or paths. They also have to be an ‘approved’ scooter, and be ridden in one of the 32 areas trialling them. In Greater Manchester, these areas include Salford and Rochdale.
Mum Denise says police have been ‘unfair’ and says that she feels it would’ve been handled differently if he had been a cyclist or pedestrian.
She said: “One minute he was in the garden on the scooter, and the next I got a phone call from him crying telling me he had been hit by a taxi.
“Witnesses told me they were not messing around or riding dangerously - I still know it was wrong, but my children don’t know the laws. I have raised them to be sensible.
“My son could have easily been a pedestrian or a cyclist, and I feel it would have been handled differently then.
“My child could have so easily been injured much worse or even killed.”
Denise called the laws around e-scooters ‘confusing’ and said there is ‘mixed signals’ after she saw them being used by people elsewhere.
Now, she fears that more children could be at danger if they take their e-scooters on the roads and that those in cars who hit them will face ‘no consequence.’
In emails seen by the
Observer, Denise was told that police would not be taking action against the taxi driver that hit her son.
She was also told she could face prosecution for providing her son with the scooter in the first place.
Police warned: “Depending on the penalty points put onto their licence (typically 6 points for no insurance) this may even revoke their licence.”
Denise added: “It essentially sends out the message that anyone in a car can run someone over on one of these electric scooters and just get away with it.
“He had no idea about the road laws and for the most part, he told me he had been on a path but had to go into the road to move out of the way for a lady with a pram.
“It seems completely unfair - he was not messing about and kids will always be kids and make mistakes. He could have died.
“My children certainly won’t be the last.
“Kids love going on scooters and with Christmas coming up, a lot of parents will be ordering these online.”
She will also not get the electric scooter back as “it was seized under legislation provided for removing uninsured vehicles from the road.”
It had first been a present bought online for her son Jamie to use on family holidays and in the back garden before the crash.
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: “Officers do engage with people using them illegally to remind them of the safety danger they can post, particularly if used on pavements and designated cycle lanes.
“Like any other vehicle, there are specific rules around the use of e-scooters. They can only be used on private land with the owner’s permission.
“The only e-scooters that can be used on public roads in Greater Manchester are those that are part of the ongoing trial in Salford and Rochdale.
“This trial allows for the legal use of Lime e-scooters in the designated trial area only.
“E-scooters are classified as personal light electric vehicles by the Department of Transport and as such the regulations for owning and using them must be enforced to ensure the safety of everyone using our roads and public footpaths.”