There may be little difference in risks attached to normal bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters. They are all fundamentally more dangerous than cars and to minimise risk rely upon rider caution.

That some people are killed riding e-scooters does not make them bad. They can be ridden legally, or like other 2 wheeled transport, on pavements, 2 up, with luggage etc etc.

If the government were intent on limiting KSI they would ban all of them - not an approach I endorse. Mandatory helmet wearing would be sensible.

E-scooter use is only very intermittently policed and I see little prospect of that changing. The sooner they are legalised and the pointless debate closed, the better.

It might be worth setting a reasonable legal speed limit for them, as an attempt to mitigate the damage in collisions. And make sure it was under surveillance of some sort.

There already is a speed limiter of 15.5mph on the scooters you can buy 'officially' (which is less than most people could pedal a bike if they put some effort in), but there are at least three further problems to making this happen. How would this be enforced? and who would be paying for it?. Also, it isn't that difficult to buy a scooter from one of these big online Chinese marketplaces, which may or may not be limited to the above speed.

There is a report on the BBC about mechanics offering to disable the speed limiters.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-60786275

Posing as an e-scooter owner who intends to illegally ride on public roads, a BBC South East journalist phoned nine randomly-selected workshops in Kent, East Sussex and London to ask if they could increase the speed.

Four offered to hack the software to remove restrictions, while one explained how customers could do it themselves. Two offered to sell new e-scooters that could travel in excess of 50mph, two declined and warned against tampering with an e-scooter.

An e-scooter workshop in London said they could increase the speed to 21 or 22mph.

The reporter said: "I'm using it to commute into London, it's not likely to get me arrested any more or cause any problems is it?"

The mechanic responded: "No, no, nothing whatsoever."

I am of the opinion with all the Scooters I have seen so far in town and around, of which is a lot more now than a year or so ago, it isn`t the speed so much causing the problem as the way they are ridden.

I have complained at Cyclists in the past for the way they ride, but they have nothing on the scooter riders, even middle aged people are now using them to go shopping and give others a lift, ie, 2 on board.

most ride in such a way as to be a menace to other pedestrians and car drivers, they appear from nowhere, cross the road at any time, even in rush hour without looking, and when a driver has to brake hard to miss them, the rider puts his hand up presumably to thank the driver for missing them. there is enough to concentrate on, I have no objections to these scooters if they are ridden in a way which is safe for everyone, but so far have seen none that do.....

Few observations:

• fit a dash cam to limit being held responsible for the stupidity of other road users - including cyclists, scooterists etc
• there is no point in creating laws which are either not enforced or incapable of enforcement - a waste of time, effort and money
• mandate helmet wearing - easy and obvious to enforce and will save lives

Well said.

Nearly 40% of private car journeys are under 2 miles. 58% are under 5 miles. That's a lot of car spend, fuel, congestion and pollution for a lot of very short journeys. Of course people are going to choose far, far, FAR cheaper alternatives to owning a car, or waiting and paying for public transport.

Bicycles have been around longer than cars and are fantastic for short journeys, provided the roads are comparatively safe and the drivers are following the updated Highway Code rules.

Remember Napster? It was the illegal music sharing 'store' which allowed everyone to get the latest music digitally and without paying a penny. It caught the music industry off guard and took a successful lawsuit from the Recording Industry in 2001 to get stopped. However, it changed the way people got hold of their music forever. iTunes and legitimate digital music selling followed, then streaming.

eScooters are Napster right now. A method of personal powered transportation over short-medium distances which for a tiny fraction of the cost of a car, and with much more convenience, The infrastructure might not be there for them yet, nor the legislation. And that is leading to conflict and teeth-gnashing from some motorists. But the market is now wide open and people want them - like the Recording Industry in 1999, it's up to the regulators and the legislature to catch up and make it work to the benefit of society. Which it should. There's way too many cars on the roads, and people need cheaper alternatives.

Edited by Sulphur Man on 28/03/2022 at 17:18

There's way too many cars on the roads, and people need cheaper alternatives.

Bicycles?

Electric bicycles (with speed restrictors removed) ;-)