Electric scooters could soon be made legal on UK roads

E-scooters could soon be made legal on British roads. UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps suggested the move would be included in this week’s Queen’s Speech.

While the vehicle was not mentioned by Prince Charles on the day, a UK Government spokeswoman later confirmed e-scooter legislation will be included in the upcoming Transport Bill.

So e-scooters could soon be legal to use on public roads.

But hold on, I’ve been seeing people out riding them for a while now, you might say.

The mode of transport has become increasingly popular in big cities such as Glasgow and Edinburgh, but they are also often seen on the streets of smaller cities such as Dundee.

E-scooters have a peculiar legal standing in the UK where they are legal to buy and own, but not to ride on public roads.

So, how does the legal status work and what might be changing? How can e-scooters be illegal if I keep seeing them?

It is legal to sell, buy and own an e-scooter in the UK. It is also legal to ride them on private land.

However, as they are considered a “powered vehicle”, they have the same requirements as cars and motorbikes.

This means you cannot use them on pavements or in cycle lanes.

Technically, they have to meet the same criteria as cars and motorbikes to be roadworthy – insurance, registration, road tax, driving licence, MOT, age, etc. Putting all of that in place for an e-scooter is practically impossible.

Basically, anyone you have seen riding an e-scooter on the streets has likely been breaking the law.

Would a new legal status mean I will be seeing more of them? Most likely.

Anyone interested in buying one, but put off because of its legal status, will likely be queueing to snap one up if made legal.

Similarly, people scared of ending up in court would no longer have that concern.

There remains safety fears around them.

London Fire Brigade highlighted a number of incidents in recent years where e-scooters caught fire.

Some cities have been running trials for public hire e-scooters. However, none of these have been taking place in Scotland.

There are 31 live trials across England.

This includes Liverpool, Salford, Newcastle and York.

Only e-scooters approved through a local authority are allowed on public land as part of the trials.

These trials, which end in November, will assess aspects such as demand, safety, cost and whether they help reduce motor traffic.

The UK Government spokeswoman said: “Safety

will always be our top priority. Our trials are helping us to better understand the benefits of properly regulated, safetytested e-scooters and their impact on public space.

“While riding a privately

owned e-scooter on public land is illegal, we are considering how best to design future regulations. Our Transport Bill will help us to take the steps we need to make e-scooters safer and support innovation.”

E-scooter legislation will be included in the upcoming Transport Bill.