E scooters are illegal? - right!!

Any parent even considering buying their child an e-scooter needs their head seeing to. In 2023 a 14 year old boy, and his parents, were convicted of killing 71 year old Linda Davis whilst e-scooting on the pavement in Rainworth, Notts. Moreover, of the 61 e-scooter riders killed in the UK since 2019, 10 (16%) were under 18. All were killed in collision with vehicles. However, 66% of adult riders deaths involved no other vehicle, they lost control, fell and hit the ground fixed objects, typically parked cars, trees, posts. This illustrates just how unstable and dangerous they are. In addition, it can be assumed that for every fatality, there are many more serious injuries with life-changing consequences. Do you really want that for your child. Buy them a pedal bike instead.
Private e-scooters remain illegal to ride in any public place and even private property where the public have access (eg parks, school property, public car parks, university campus, trading estates, hospital grounds etc). Hence, a university or school head has not got the authority to approve them on their "private" property.

No, e-scooters rented under the DfT trial scheme are not, and never have been permitted on pavements. If/when private e-scooters are legalised they too will be banned from pavements......just like pedal cycles.

They are a great idea but not when the people using them just rush over streets. Wind up and down the pavements and roads.

Dh and ds have both got scooters although both drive. I am not happy about ds having one but he bought his own and knows they are still illegal.

If they’re stopped by the police then they can look forward to 6 points for no insurance and possibly driving otherwise in accordance with a license.

Cycling UK can recommend solicitors to cyclists who are hit by car driver, and when car driver refuses to pay for damage to the bicycle -- happened to DH recently. He initially asked for £700 for the brake lever replacement & settled for £2.5k (to also cover part of the legal costs) after the driver tried to claim (but failed to prove) it was his fault.

Part of his key evidence that collision was not his fault was his Strava upload, btw.

Dh and ds have both got scooters although both drive. I am not happy about ds having one but he bought his own and knows they are still illegal.

Dh is disabled and the scooter has been fabulous for him as it means he can come for walks in the woods with us that he wouldn’t have been able to before and we can walk to friends houses instead of having to drive. He doesn’t need a wheelchair and disability scooters are so big to store when not in use. He is very sensible though and not racing about everywhere!

Several kids have got them near us and so far there hasn’t been any problems with them.

www.dispatch.com/entertainmentlife/20180908/early-bikes-sparked-same-fears-in-19th-century-that-scooters-do-today

The same thing was said about bicycles in the 1890s.

If mumsnet had been around when bicycles were invented, I'm sure you'd all be moaning about them too

I've just done a bit of googling. Looks like insurance is already available for escooters from several providers.

There ought to be a registration system for use in public spaces. That way it would be easier for the police to spot the illegal ones. Mobility scooters aren't allowed to do more than 4mph on pavements and the same rule ought to be extended to these contraptions (and bicycles really). All of the other rules about lights, bells and signals should also apply to e-scooters, with individuals banned from the service if caught misusing them.

Kerebos specialist bike insurance policies will cover 3rd party liability too but membership of BC or CUK is probably cheaper and has other benefits. Most of the BC membership categories also cover legal protection if you're involved in an accident that isn't your fault too. (I'm not sure about CUK as I'm not a member.) It's only about £40 a year so well worth it in my opinion.
Personally I'd have no problem with insurance being mandatory for cyclists and scooter riders but I know that's not a very popular opinion.

I guess I was thinking 3rd party liability insurance specifically.

Kerberos quite a lot of cyclists don't realise they are insured to be fair! Most categories of British Cycling membership have 3rd party liability insurance for claims up to £15 million against a rider and Cycling UK membership includes cover up to £10 million. Between the 2 organisations there are about 220 000 members. Then there are others who take out specialist insurance with companies like Bikmo and Pedalsure.
I don't have specific bike insurance as I have BC membership and my home contents insurance has quite good bike cover so I don't really need it, but if you have a lot of bikes it's worth thinking about. My home insurance covers bikes worth up to a total of £15k with a maximum single bike worth £5k for loss, theft or damage anywhere in the world but our previous policy wasn't as good. It's worth checking.

So make insurance available for them, then in general I'd love to see more investment in cycle paths in general. This seems to be the sensible place for scooter riders to be?

I do have a belief we live in a country where we've let cars and noisy roads take over too much. And I say that as a firm and committed big diesel people mover car driver. Making space for safe cycling, scooting, horse riding, roller skating and walking would improve how our communities operate in my view.

I would quite like to see them made legal, with lots more closure of inner city roads to private vehicle traffic - buses / delivery lorries only etc. I'd love to be able to cycle or use an electric scooter to get to work but the roads are far too busy. Appreciate this is just a pipe dream however, we are as a society fiercely wed to our cars (and I say that as someone who loves driving).

If they were legal and I could use them safely I would definitely have one!

We live in an e-scooter trial area so they aren't illegal here.

I just know that they are very dangerous. Someone was killed on one near where I work almost two years ago, and the silence on the cordoned off road was so very sad. Every time I see someone on one now I think that people don’t realise how vulnerable they are on them.

I don’t care if people use them I just don’t want them on the pavements

Kerberos -- many cyclists do have relevant insurance, but it's not legally required, I think legal requirement is what you mean.

Cyclists can be fined for being on pavement even if the cycle is hired.
but ok, how could scooters could be safer:

If routinely allowed on pavement: cap speed at 3mph.
They need to have a device on handlebar you must hold constantly or the brake kicks in.
A portion of the rental fee needs to go into a compensation fund for any rider who hits someone else (or property) while on it.
The rental charge must keep running (meter keep charging to the renter) until they are left in designated drop off points, not just dropped at a random location strewn in the footway like litter.

I'll think of more points!