Call for ban on sale of private e-scooters

A JEWELLERY Quarter councillor is calling for shops to be banned from selling e-scooters, claiming they were an “unnecessary burden on police”.

It is illegal to ride privatelyowned e-scooters on public roads, cycle lanes or pavements.

But a number of towns and cities in England, including Birmingham, currently operate government-backed e-scooter trials where customers can rent them.

Cllr Chaman Lal (Lab) said he was an advocate of Birmingham’s Voi trial but believed the Government should force shops to stop selling private e-scooters as they were a “nuisance to society”.

He said: “It begs the question: if they can’t be used, why are they being sold? It’s illegal to ride them on roads, only legal on private land, and yet we constantly see people on them in our streets.”

Police warn that illegal riders face having their e-scooters seized and fines of up to £300 amid a crackdown on reckless riding.

When asked why he supported Birmingham’s Voi trial, Cllr Lal added: “With Voi, there is a limit on how fast these e-scooters can go. But with private scooters you can’t monitor their speed.

“And there’s only so many places a rider can go within the trial zone before the e-scooter stops working. However, with the privately-owned ones, we see people dangerously driving down highways.”

Some privately-owned e-scooters can do more than 55mph. Currently, there is no law for e-scooters so they fall under the same regulations as motor vehicles and are subject to MOT, tax and licensing.