E-scooter menace that’s being ignored

IN AT least two cities, Portsmouth and Canterbury, discontent is growing about the e-scooter menace inflicted on them by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. He has licensed ‘trials’ of these rightly illegal machines, during which the law is suspended, all over the country. In Portsmouth, more than 100 accidents have been recorded since March, with more than 13 deemed to be ‘serious’, requiring hospital treatment.

In Canterbury, the local Police and Crime Commissioner,

Matthew Scott, says: ‘E-scooters are an absolute menace and should be banned outright – no more trials, no legalisation of privately owned ones. People are already being killed and seriously injured using them.

‘I’ve spoken to doctors who are seeing the impact on their wards. The Government needs to take action before people buy more of these e-scooters for Christmas.’

But in both cities, rather than the machines being banned, ‘experiments’ have been extended, apparently on the sayso of the Transport Department. Is this supposed trial, in fact, a softening-up exercise to get us ready for full legalisation? It looks increasingly like it.

The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety has been trying to find out the facts as there are few official figures.

There are now about 20,000 legal rental e-scooters on the road, plus about half a million illegal private ones. In the first ten months of this year there have been nine deaths involving e-scooters and 300 casualties. I suspect this understates the problem. E-scooters, unstable and unprotected, are inherently dangerous for their riders and for the public. That is why they are illegal. They will not replace cars and they are not green as they use generated power.

They are successful and lucrative because they are made cheaply in China and appeal to human laziness – to people who cannot be bothered to walk or cycle.

Legalisation will be a tragedy. Please write to your MP to say the ban should be maintained.