Illegal scooters blamed for rise in deaths and casualties

E-SCOOTER deaths have trebled, from four in 2021 to 12 this year, a report has found.

The latest data from the Department for Transport reveal that in the year ending June 2022 there were 1,349 collisions involving e-scooters, compared to 978 in 2021.

Meanwhile, casualties caused by e-scooter collisions have increased from 1,033 last year to 1,437 in the latest figures. Of those, the majority were e-scooter drivers themselves.

The report shows that 1,095 of the casualties were e-scooter users while 243 were pedestrians and 58 were cyclists. Men in their teens and twenties had the highest reported rates of e-scooter casualties, compared with any other age group.

Nearly half of the 1,095 casualties among e-scooter drivers were young men. In response to the report, a transport charity has called on the Government to crack down on illegal scooter driving, which analysis shows is responsible for 70 per cent of collisions.

David Davies, executive director of

the Parliamentary Advisory Charity for Transport Safety (PACT), said: “We’re seeing an increase in casualties because more and more scooters are being bought and used illegally.

“The Government should absolutely crack down on the responsible retailing of private scooters. It’s very clear that retailers are not advising their customers about the illegality of using them.”

E-scooter use was partly legalised in summer 2020, with some areas allowed to run trial rental schemes.

These remain underway in 31 regions across England.

However it is against the law to ride a privately owned e-scooter anywhere other than on private land. Despite this, PACT estimates there are more than 750,000 e-scooter owners in the UK.

Experts have warned that the roll-out of e-scooter rental schemes is also partly responsible. Simon Williams, RAC road safety spokesman, said: “The novelty of these schemes has led to far more users and, in turn, a sad but perhaps inevitable increase in casualties.

“It’s [concerning] the casualty rate appears to be highest among those who have least experience of the [roads].”