So many E-scooter deaths..

It can be confusing, electric two wheeler stand on, electric two wheeler ride on, 3 or 4 wheeler mobility scooter

I was walking my dog and 5 lads wearing the runners uniform of black trackies, hoody, trainers rode straight out into a junction without looking or even slowing down. Cars beeping, they just hurled abuse at the drivers. It struck me as natural selection if they got killed. I'd feel sorry for the driver of the car.

I supported in a year 6 classroom this last school year and, when it was time to learn about ratio, a lot of the children were questioning why they need it.

This thread shows why. Deaths per scooters being lower than deaths per carsrans nothing without that ratio. How many scooters are in use Vs how many cars are in use?

They should definitely be regulated.

Others have asked that too. I'd love to say that I'll simply go and buy another e-scooter, but I won't because I feel that the backlash / idiotic usage is now at the point where I can't see the government ever licensing them for private use (which was a possibility when I bought the current model). So I shall probably go and buy a mainstream e-bike instead, as they are already legal.

It's unlikely though that the police will stop me and confiscate my e-scooter. They have had ample opportunity alerady, I actually cross the end of a road with a large police station so no end of marked and unmarked cars have seen me stop, dismount, cross that road junction and then set off again. I feel as though they haven't stopped me because I am clearly a sensible scooter rider and not an idiot that needs to be taken off the road/pavement. My e-scooter is likely to come to the end of its sustainable life (no spare battery) before it is confiscated.

Plus, they are burdening the NHS

how much is it costing in £?

drivers of cars are presently costing https://www.statista.com/statistics/325832/casualty-costs-from-road-accidents-in-great-britain-uk-by-severity/#:~:text=The%20total%20human%20costs%20for,1.145%20billion%20British%20pounds%20respectively. 

The total human costs for serious casualties in road accidents surpassed 3.5 billion British pounds in the year 2020.

That was the year everyone stayed home and car traffic was at the levels of 1950s for 3/4 months

They are actually terrible. They are used by people who otherwise would have walked. A city near me has them and this is what the research shows.

Plus, they are burdening the NHS - a friend of a friend spends her days scanning people’s heads after they fall off, mostly not wearing helmets.

Hedges, unless you interview every escooter user, you cannot possibly know whether they are replacing car journeys or not, i can guarantee some will. I defend them and no I do not work for companies that sell them

DD 20yo said this morning'I hate them with a fiery vengeance' and I agree. She's in Nottingham and honestly walking down Darby Road with her, I feel like I am driving without a rear view mirror, repeatedly having to check one isn't coming up behind me. They are hard to hear with the traffic noise. I also at home consciously walk a) without veering b) close to the inside of the pavement so the bloody things may be able to pass without hitting me.
I spoke to the police at a community fete and they were not interested, suggesting photograing them or reporting the number (city trail - now stopped thank god)
I'm moving in 2 years. In the town I'm going to, I have not ever seen one and it feels so much safer and relaxing.

As people have said earlier, they aren’t beneficial for the environment as they are replacing journeys that would otherwise be taken by walking or cycling.
It’s pretty obvious that they are dangerous to both the rider and to pedestrians.
I just can’t see any reason for them.
Are the people defending them working for companies that sell them?

@JenniferAllisonPhillipaSue

what will you do if tackled by the police and they take it away? Will you go and purchase another escooter?

just wondering, I know they are not illegal if hired but are if they are privately owned and used on public roads or pavements

Yesterday one was zooming down the path with someone on the back on our busy highstreet. So dangerous.

Sorry to hear that @MaxiPadd I got a combination of laughed at and disbelieved on here when i told how my HA told DH to get rid of his mobility scooter or they would destroy it or sell it (depending on whether you believed the tort notice or the housing officer.

Not only have i yet to hear of anyone in a flat with an e scooter being told the same thing up in Bristol they are deliberately inflating e scooters with mobility scooters. The thread i linked above has aged even less well than i thought it would when it was posted six years ahgo.

What should the penalties be for these kids ?

As PPs have said, seize and destroy the scooters

I realise of course that it's probably not the kids who'll have paid for them and certain types of parent would go berserk, but perhaps they should have thought of this before buying them in the first place and then not supervising their use

Yeah I'm one of those people- different location, but I'm not allowed my mobility scooter in the hallway anymore

Which wouldn't be much of an issue if I could actually manage holding open my large fire door front door to drive through it but since I can't- it's pretty redundant and I rely on my car and strong but far too young for this DC to help me pushing the rollator wheelchair when everything else fails

Stupidly I have it so I can get to and from school when I can't drive due to painkillers but if DC aren't home due to being AT school- I'm trapped really

Have applied for a move to a ground floor but they'll probably have left school before I get offered somewhere suitable

YY @MaxiPadd Its actually even worse
Tower block fire caused by a fridge and spread by flammable cladding? Lets target those on mobility scooters
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3095770-to-worry-that-the-Grenfell-Tower-fire-is-now-being-used-as-an-excuse-to-bully-disabled-tenants

Fire caused by electric bike? Lets target those on mobility scooters.

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/calls-people-evicted-bristol-tower-8613991

I'm an e-scooter user. I'm female, and I use it occasionally for commuting to work. I wear high-vis banding over my coat, gloves, and a cycle helmet; my scooter has a light although I only ride in good conditions in daylight anyway. I have a full driving licence (and passed my cycle proficiency many years ago). My scooter is regulated to a max speed of about 20kph. I'd be happy to be licensed and have to carry separate insurance for using it, if that stopped the abuse by others - but it won't.

I don't know the solution, as it seems that more and more we need to legislate to control idiotic behaviour. Personally I'd like to see some control of the high-power e-bikes being used by takeaway delivery drivers - they're not bikes, they're not motorbikes, they are presumably imports that fall into some grey area between the two. But maybe people are less bothered by those because they serve a purpose, how else will their deliveroo order arrive in time?

Destruction of scooter, fines for parents, that said I see plenty of adults out on them.

the scooters are confiscated https://www.scootered.co.uk/blog/policing-of-electric-scooters-in-uk.html

Well actually potentially 22 deaths per year going on last years stats. We could do both you know, look at improving road safety inc cars and e scooters. It’s not a binary option

we can't do both, if you look at the thread from last month - its not possible to test drivers sight when there are hundreds of cases of drivers killing through not being albe to see where they are driving. There isn't the resources, not the personal to test drivers sight as its just not that simple. Therefore 2,900 crashes injuring people due to poor eyesight and 10 deaths per year

14 deaths in 2022 and 3 deaths in 2023 where are you getting the stats for 22 death per year

Destruction of scooter, fines for parents, that said I see plenty of adults out on them.

What should the penalties be for these kids ?

There should be police out and about dealing with this. They should remove the scooters from those using illegally, and destroy them. ID cards would help, but whinging liberal types start to scream and shout whenever this idea is brought up, even though it it we be of benefit in many aspects of life, just as in other countries.

There is absolutely no point in bringing in ew laws when the existing aren't inforced.

People often argue the police are underfunded, that might be as maybe, but I have witnessed them ignoring crimes that happen in front of them, that is wilful ignorance.

There’s no point making laws if underage offenders never go to prison. They aren’t earning so can’t be fined. I doubt human rights allows parents to be penalised.
What punishment, apart from confiscating the bike, is there.

they have to be legalised to enforce rules etc...

True enough, but if there's no willingness to enforce the rules it's all a bit redundant

In any case, the worst types of rider will enjoy the "legal" bit ("F*k off, my bike's legal you c*t") but completely ignore the rules just as they do now

Motorbikes are not e-bikes.
Motorbikes are licensed and require a test to ride them. E-bikes do not.