Electric scooters should be legal, says travel boss

ELECTRIC scooters should be l egalised for use on Britain’s roads, but restricted to 12mph, the Government has been urged.

At the moment it is illegal to ride the battery-powered vehicles on public roads and pavements, but despite this they are widely used.

Last month, Emily Hartridge, 35, a YouTube star, became the first person in Britain to be killed while riding an e-scooter when she was hit by a lorry in London.

Now a leading official at Transport for London (TfL) has called for the Government to speed up its review into their legal status.

But Michael Hurwitz, director of transport innovation at TfL, emphasised that any change in the law should be ‘done in a safe way’.

His comments came as protesters gathered in Downing Street yesterday to call for a change in the law to allow e-scooters on roads.

Mr Hurwitz said the scooters should be restricted to 12mph, the speed recently introduced in Germany, even though some can reach 52mph.

He added: ‘We need the Department for Transport [DfT] to accelerate its review to really put some safeguards around their use.’

He said it was ‘a bit of an understatement to say the law was out of date’ and the popularity of e-scooters had been ‘coming for years’.

They are particularly popular in London, where in one week last month, police stopped nearly 100 riders. The majority were warned, but ten were fined for aggravating factors such as travelling too fast or ignoring a red light.

The day after Ms Hartridge died, a boy aged 14 suffered a serious head injury when he crashed his e-scooter into a bus stop.

In March the Government launched a review of legislation, but any change is likely to take at least two years.

Under the 1835 Highways Act it is an offence to use e-scooters anywhere in a public space as they do not comply with motorised vehicle requirements such as insurance, tax and driver testing.

The protesters in Downing Street called for a change in ‘outdated’ laws banning e-scooters. Organiser Peter Williams, 22, said there had been a recent clampdown on their use, adding: ‘We want people to have the option to choose a green mode of transport rather than using diesel buses or cars.’

A DfT spokesman said: ‘Micromobility products, such as e-scooters, are appearing in countries across the globe and are an exciting innovation. However, safety must always be our top priority when considering their use on public highways in this country.

‘The Government is considering the use of e-scooters as part of its regulatory review, examining whether they can be regulated for safe use on the road while still encouraging innovative new forms of transport.’