Electric scooters should be legally regulated

sir – The proposal to allow electric scooters on British roads (report, October 3), without helmets or licences, is preposterous.

If they are permitted, licences, helmets and insurance should be mandatory, along with age limitations similar to those for motorcycles. Use on pavements or other pedestrian areas should be illegal.

Helmets for cyclists should also be a legal requirement. Any reasonable risk assessment regarding both user and potential victim would deem such regulations necessary.

John Chillington

Wells, Somerset

sir – The argument over when and where electric scooters should be ridden takes me back to the days when I was a uniformed officer in the Metropolitan Police, and Ilford High Road was part pedestrianised.

On occasions when I ws patrolling that way, I sometimes came across a cyclist riding his bike in this area (the rider was rarely female). I always stopped them, said that bikes were not allowed and that the Latin word for foot was ped, which is how you could tell that a pedestrianised area was for the use of feet only. I would then give the rider an option: either a summons or I would let the air out of their front tyre. They invariably chose the deflated tyre.

This simple rule should also apply to electric scooters, which seem to be everywhere these days, not paying much attention to pedestrians, who often have to move swiftly to avoid a collision.

Charles O’doherty

Hornchurch, Essex

sir – Electric scooters should be allowed on both pavements and roads, with differentiated maximum speed limits. These should be 5mph on pavements and 10mph on roads and cycle paths.

As things stand, these speeds are not uncommon for joggers and cyclists. Higher speeds would be dangerous to both pedestrians and the riders themselves.

Clive Gordon

Tilehurst, Reading