e scooters

[novaparty12]

I was under the impression that escooters were illegal on public land. Nearly all of My DD's friends have them lots got them for christmas and some have bought them these last few months. My DD has asked for one and I have said no. I know a couple of people who have bought them for their teens so they don't have to keep ferrying them around. I have just walked the dog and on a 2 mile walk they are everywhere and i think everyone was under 16!! So have these suddenly become a legal mode of transport for teenagers??

The law hasn’t changed but the police aren’t at all bothered about enforcing it. Round here they’ve told people that if they do bother to pull them over (which is rare) all they have to do is turn them off and use them as a manual scooter until they’re out of sight of police. I personally have no problem with them if they’re used sensibly. They’re handy for journeys and environmentally friendly.

No, they are not legal in the sense that they are not legally allowed on the pavement but also not on the road.

It's stupid though - they should just treat them the same as ebikes and require the electric motor to be limited to 15mph. They would then be treated the same as bicycles and could be used in the road but not the pavement.
They should just be the same as bikes - I think the legal requirements for bikes are something like having reflectors and being sold with a bell?

I believe the reason they have not tweaked the law to allow this is that they believe they will be a very popular form of transport and then add to pressure to expand safe cycling infrastructure. And the fanatic driving contingent like the Association of Bad Drivers get arsey about that.

They are an efficient and low carbon form of urban transport and should be welcomed and accommodated on the road safely, just like bikes. Much better than having more cars in the road or more people cramming into public transport.

So yes technically they are illegal but it's stupid that they are. They should not be on pavements and should be treated the same as bikes

They are illegal, and a menace - people scooting on very busy walkways, is a typical hazard near me. It's a fully pedestrianised area and bikes are also banned! They should change the law to limit the speed, mandate lights and safety features, compulsory helmets (saw a bloody head from one the other day). I like my electric bike but only ride it on roads and designated cycle paths (not shared use)

They must, must, must change the law to have them on the road in cycle lanes

They're utterly terrifying on the pavement as they zoom past and scare the shit out of kids/dogs - they could literally kill a kid

They are illegal on anything but private land. Can’t go on the road or the pavement or in parks.

They are bloody everywhere around here, and a nuisance as they don’t want to stop for anything or anyone.

Road - not allowed as they are powered but not taxed (unlike a bicycle which isn’t powered). Also because it’s bloody dangerous for the rider of the scooter.

Pavement - they are a danger to pedestrians and shouldn’t be on pavements - even bikes which aren’t powered shouldn’t be (except for small children under good supervision of course).

I say that as an adult who rides a “push” scooter (don’t know what else to call it! An ordinary one!) to keep up with my Ds. But you can just put your feet down, break etc to stop when you need to be considerate of others.

I agree that there should in the future be a network of separate lanes for these and bicycles. I don’t think the current bicycle lanes are fit for purpose at all. It would be fab if we could all safely buzz around on scooters but currently we can’t.

I wish this was polices though as it seems not to be!

They should just be the same as bikes. Speed limited and with appropriate brakes and reflectors/lights.
They should be in the road, the same as bikes. Not limited to just cycle lanes - because there are not many of those in most places. Just in the carriageway, exactly like a bike. And ideally build cycle lanes and protected junctions and other safe infrastructure for cyclists, scooter riders and mobility scooter drivers to use - and sufficient safe parking and storage facilities.

I wear a bike helmet but the evidence suggests they make little difference to death rates - go to somewhere like the Netherlands and no one wears them. Generally what kills you as a cyclist is the crush injuries to your body.
Car drivers have a higher rate of admission for head injuries and we don't mandate helmets for them. Cycle helmets are a fairly weak bit of polystyrene anyway - they don't hold up to much.
New Zealand made cycle helmets mandatory and saw a decline in cycling - so people not getting the exercise they would have otherwise have done.

I do wear one but that's my choice (mostly because my mum really wants me to even though I am 36).

Electric scooter and regular adult human powered scooters are a menace on the pavement and the sooner the government sorts the law out to treat them like electric assist bikes, the better.

(Actually a lot of small children on scooters on the pavement are a menace too but we probably have to just live with that.)

Note: riding push scooters on the pavement is also illegal - if you need to do it to keep up with your kids, then they are also probably going too fast on the pavement.

Also the fact that some riders are inconsiderate and stupid doesn't mean we should not seek to legalise their status. Or we'd ban cars as there are lots of bad drivers.
And loads of teenagers ride bikes like idiots too - because teenagers often are idiots.
We also can't wait for a network of perfect cycle lanes to be built everywhere. They'll have to use the road like regular cyclists and eventually local authorities will come under enough pressure to improve their cycle lanes.
An escooter is not really any more dangerous to its rider than a bike is to its cyclist (assuming speed limited to 15mph and fitted with appropriate brakes) It is the behaviour of the rider that is important.

Escooters present a great opportunity for low carbon, efficient transport that is clearly appealing to various groups who aren't getting on their bicycles instead. I ride a bike but I don't believe in some sort of hair shirted "they should be pedalling and exercising" approach. It's micro mobility - the ability to travel short distances efficiently. Give a large portion of city car journeys are less than 2 miles, it would be great for the environment, traffic, air quality, noise etc if they were done by scooter (or bike) instead.

I do actually think they are a good idea if ridden probably and with care. But my main gripe is that they are "illegal" yet parents are letting their teenagers break the law. Like someone says teenagers ride bikes and can be idiots on them but riding a bike is not against the law but rising a e scooter is!!!

I saw somewhere not sure where that the Garda in the ROI confiscated scooters of kids using them.

e-scooter trial recently started in my area a few weeks ago. The day after the launch I was driving down a quiet road and saw a car come out of a side street straight into an e scooter knocking the driver off.
He was OK, but justifiably furious with the car driver, he could easily have been badly injured if there had been more cars about.
Will be interesting to see the results of the trial.

Most of the ones round here are being ridden by younger than teenagers

It was on Craicnet if you want to look

I think there should be proper recognition, training and then proper enforcement. I'd far prefer a 16 year old to have one that a moped.

We’ve got a whole load of Beryl e-scooters being trialled here

beryl.cc/news/beryl-e-scooters-join-the-family

Apparently they are legal but you need at least a provisional licence

They are a bloody pain as they’re being ridden all over the pavements by much younger pre-teens/early teens

hey're utterly terrifying on the pavement as they zoom past and scare the shit out of kids/dogs - they could literally kill a kid

It's kids riding them! That's the real problem, 12 year olds flying around on these things, they are a menace to themselves and others

I'm in another e-scooter trial area. Maybe they think your area will eventually become one too?

Really annoying and could be very dangerous (for example if an older person was hit by some one on one, they may never recover, would be pretty unpleasant for younger people to be hit by one)

no wheels are allowed on the pavement except pushchairs and wheelchairs - that includes small children on scooters. It certainly includes large children on adults on scooters.

There is nowhere public that these things can be used, which unfortunately doesn't stop them being sold. They are quite good Darwin award material though..

Trialling them in Bath. I normally visit San Diego every year, e scooters are everywhere there, every street corner has then stored for hire, probably more of them than cars in the city. But they are used responsibly, so have no issue.
Irresponsible use does however bother me

They work in America because the roads and pavements are usually quite wide. Britain is too crowded, pavements are unsuitable and roads unsafe for scooters.

@LaurieFairyCake

They must, must, must change the law to have them on the road in cycle lanes

They're utterly terrifying on the pavement as they zoom past and scare the shit out of kids/dogs - they could literally kill a kid

Theyre utterly illegal atm, why would making them more legal make them less of a hazard

They're not legal, and anyone who is riding one on public roads or allowing their kids to do so is an idiot. I'd far rather the police actually take some action on this rather than all the nonsensical half arsed policing of Covid guidelines that has been going on for the past months.

Escooters are completely uninsured and unregulated, and therein lies the problem. They can cause considerable damage to a car (more than a bike) or a pedestrian because of the speeds involved and because they are often being used by teenagers/preteens who don't have any lights on and/or are in the middle of the road. Or the middle of the pavement. .

I thought they were legal now?

Certainly we have a load of e-scooter rental type things locally working the same way as the boris bikes do in London.

Pain in the arse though.