Break the law on your e-scooter? They’ll have YOUR NUMBER
MINISTERS may make it compulsory for e-scooters to carry number plates, to ensure thoughtless owners can be traced.
Around 30 on-road trials of the new fashionable mode of transport are being conducted around the country after a review was launched in December.
E-scooters do not have legal status on either roads or pavements beyond those trial areas.
And while the Government has ruled out legalising their use on pavements it is now considering their use on roads.
A Department for Transport source said one option is to issue them with number plates like cars and motorbikes. “One view is they can only be viable if they have number plates,” they said.
“That way we can trace back ownership in the case of accidents or dangerous use.”
Sales have skyrocketed across the UK. In October last year Halford’s revealed a 450 per cent increase in sales. Tens of thousands have been bought throughout the year, typically retailing
‘I have concerns
about scooters being ridden on
pavements’
from £299 for a cheaper model. Travelling at around 15mph, they offer a range of 20 miles on a five-and-a-half hour charge.
There are concerns e-scooters are too light for roads yet too fast and dangerous for pavements.
Last week Jaspal Dhariwal from Slough in Berkshire, where one of the trials is taking place, launched a petition for a nationwide ban on e-scooters.
He called on the Department of Transport to remove its backing for the series of trials, including the one in his town.
The petition states: “The Government should revoke its support for local e-scooter trials as I have health and safety concerns regarding such scooters being illegally ridden on pavements.
“The Department of Transport initiated this scheme and should revoke its support and ensure any current trials are stopped.”
Police in West Drayton in West London have been appealing for witnesses to an accident where a man in his 40s suffered severe head injuries after colliding with a parked car last week while riding an e-scooter.
TV presenter and Youtube star Emily Hartridge, 35, inset left, was the victim of a fatal collision involving an e-scooter. She died in July 2019 when her e-scooter collided with a lorry in Battersea.
In the government trials members of the public are expected to use hired scooters which are limited to 12.5mph and must have front and rear lights. Riders also must have a full or provisional car or motorcycle licence and are recommended to wear a helmet, but this is not compulsory.
Since the pilot schemes involving rented e-scooters started last year it is understood around 70 people have been injured, including 11 serious injuries.