Trendy rides to be legal on roads next year
PLANS are being drawn up to make private e-scooters legal on our roads within the next 12 months.
They will be bound by the same rules governing e-bikes – which can be ridden by anyone over 14.
And e-scooters will need speed limiters so they can travel at no more than 15.5mph – though some models on sale can hit 40mph.
A Westminster insider said: “It’s definitely going to happen by next year. No question.”
E-scooter rental trials are being run in London, Sunderland, Newcastle, Birmingham Bristol and Bath in a bid to cut car journeys.
But anyone caught riding their own scooter on the road faces a £300 fine and six penalty points – and police can confiscate the scooter. London’s Met Police have seized 500 being ridden illegally while police in the East Midlands have confiscated more than 100.
Sales of the trendy rides, which cost around £300, surged by 71% amid the pandemic, even though they can only be used on private land. And Government figures show they were involved in 460 accidents last year, with 484 casualties and one death. Of those injured, 384 were riders, the rest were thought to be pedestrians or cyclists.
One person was killed in 2020 and at least two have died this year.
Youtuber Emily Hartridge, 35, died in July 2019 when she lost control of an e-scooter due to an underinflated tyre and was thrown under a lorry in Battersea, South London.
In June this year Shakur Pinnock, 20, suffered a fractured skull, two severed arteries, a broken jaw and punctured lungs when his e-scooter was involved in a collision with a car in Wolverhampton and later died. His 19-year-old girlfriend Chante Hoosang, who was riding on the back, was seriously hurt.
And in July, Junior Alexander, 16, died after a car hit his e-scooter in Bromley, South London. But ministers accept that a law change is inevitable.
Retailer Halfords said: “Private use should be legalised. There are clear environmental benefits but we want to see tight standards on speed limits and safety features such as reflectors.”
The plan is to use the same Highway Code rules which govern e-bikes. That means riders would be advised to wear helmets and high-vis kit – but not forced to.
E-scooters would be allowed on roads and cycle paths but not in pedestrianised areas. They would also need lights after dark.
nigel.nelson@people.co.uk
We want to see tight rules on speed limits
and safety