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Original poster

To be slightly alarmed about this scooter

59 replies

Dreamstate · 28/07/2021 22:21

I was put driving in South London, doing emphasis and there was a teenager on an electric scooter in the middle of the road riding at what I can only assume is emphasis because despite being at 30mph I wasn't even gaining on him .

What the Heck! Since when did scooters become so fast?

Not to mention he had a bit of a wobble as he turned to check behind him and I genuinely thought he was going to come off.

Obviously I was careful leaving plenty of distance but wow...at that speed, zero protection on the road, weaving in and around cars. Thats an accident to waiting to happen.

Did the law chnage and I missed it as I thought they were illegal

OP posts:
Serenissima21 · 29/07/2021 07:05

They're a menace everywhere. People seem to drive them at speed on the pavement where I am and there have already been injuries to pedestrians. And when I say people I mean men in their fifties who should know better.

EdithWeston · 29/07/2021 07:23

I don't think anything with wheels - other than specified mobility devices for those with disabilities - should ever be on the pavements.

Put them all into cycle lanes, or the road where there are no designated lanes, just like bicycles.

Have a safe place to walk.

Change the car culture, get the roads safer

FightingtheFoo · 29/07/2021 07:28

@AlandAnna

I can’t understand why electric scooters are allowed on the roads. No indicators, you have no clue where they are going on roundabouts etc. I had an encounter with two this morning. At least they had helmets on, usually they don’t.
They're allowed because one of the scooter companies did some extremely heavy lobbying about a year ago.

They are a menace.

burritofan · 29/07/2021 07:32

I don't think anything with wheels - other than specified mobility devices for those with disabilities - should ever be on the pavements.
Agree with this wholeheartedly. Though mostly just here for “emphasis”.

Weebleweeble · 29/07/2021 07:35

Think of how many people die from cycling or driving in RTA’s every year. A few scooter deaths is nothing!
You can't compare due to the numbers - millions of car journeys a year means more accidents. But I drive long motorway journeys and speed cameras have made the driving much more cautious and fewer accidents imv.

lannistunut · 29/07/2021 07:37

Emphasis is just a typo presumably, I think we can all get the gist of the post.

OP - I agree they are dangerous, and by having some licenced there are now loads of unlicenced ones all over the place. The companies talk a load fo crap about safety measures, but they are often on pavements, often two people on one scooter, often with people who look too young to have a driving licence.

longwayoff · 29/07/2021 07:37

mph obv.

lannistunut · 29/07/2021 07:38

licensed licensed licensed

LynetteScavo · 29/07/2021 07:38

Much more emphasis should be put on the importance of wearing a helmet.

Scooters hire is being trialled in several areas, so this could have been legal. If they're going to be used in roads they need to be able to go at a decent speed. However, I don't think most areas in the UK are really suitable, and now way would I use one on a road ever without a helmet and a high-viz jacket, which takes away the freedom and fun element somewhat.

lannistunut · 29/07/2021 07:39

@LynetteScavo

Much more emphasis should be put on the importance of wearing a helmet.

Scooters hire is being trialled in several areas, so this could have been legal. If they're going to be used in roads they need to be able to go at a decent speed. However, I don't think most areas in the UK are really suitable, and now way would I use one on a road ever without a helmet and a high-viz jacket, which takes away the freedom and fun element somewhat.

It couldn't be a legal hire scooter because the ones in the hire schemes are speed limited.
LynetteScavo · 29/07/2021 07:41

What's the limit on scooters in the hire schemes?

LynetteScavo · 29/07/2021 07:44

Ah, I just Googled - 15.5mph

LynetteScavo · 29/07/2021 07:49

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/e-scooter-trials-guidance-for-local-areas-and-rental-operators/e-scooter-trials-guidance-for-local-areas-and-rental-operators

So you need a driving licence, can use any road except a motorway and don't need a helmet. Who even thought this up? Boris?

Getbehindme · 29/07/2021 07:50

I was confronted by two kids on a scooter, they were hooning down the pavement, I didn't see or hear them and we nearly collided.

It was my fault apparently, they couldn't believe I could be so careless as to step out on a pavement.

Same as cars and bikes though, there are some considerate abs sensible users, and then there are dicks. I'm sure there are more sensible than dicks, the dicks just stand out more.

So one more time. Dicks.

And emphasis.

couchparsnip · 29/07/2021 07:56

We're having a trial for scooter hire in my town and they are bloody everywhere. It's supposed to be an alternative to driving but actually they've found car journeys are about the same and most people using these would have walked. Not so good for the environment after all!

Plus they are a menace. I almost ran someone over the other night because they came out of a turning with no warning and no bloody lights! They are lucky I had good reactions.

lannistunut · 29/07/2021 07:58

It's supposed to be an alternative to driving but actually they've found car journeys are about the same and most people using these would have walked. Not so good for the environment after all!

Agree with this, is portrayed as an alternative to driving but is actually about monetising previously free journeys. People who own cars are not going to leave them on the drive and pay extra to use a scooter.

They are fuck all to do with the environment and all about generating money.

00100001 · 29/07/2021 07:59

@AlandAnna

I can’t understand why electric scooters are allowed on the roads. No indicators, you have no clue where they are going on roundabouts etc. I had an encounter with two this morning. At least they had helmets on, usually they don’t.
They're not allowed
vegas888 · 29/07/2021 08:07

Rental e-scooters can only be ridden on roads or cycle lanes in areas taking part in the Government's official trials. ... Privately-owned e-scooters are widely available to buy online, but are illegal to use on public roads, cycle lanes and pavements - and will still not be allowed in these places.

vegas888 · 29/07/2021 08:09

If they are the rental ones that you see around most cities they are allowed on roads. Seem to be a popular mode of transport for dealers of certain products where I live.

BogRollBOGOF · 29/07/2021 08:26

Most of the ones I've seen have been private ones, black along with dull clothing (no helmet) so hard to see and ridden by teenagers with minimal sense.
They are far, far too fast for pavements, and deathly silent.

I had thought that like cyclists, they'd be better on the roads but I was recently startled by one on a roundabout. Its approach and acceleration was very different to a cyclist, affecting a driver's sense of timing a safe manouver. Cyclists are vulnerable and need care to spot but their slower braking and acceleration helps with that. Most road cyclists do make themselves reasonably visible too.
I can see the point of a reasonably environmental, individual transport, but there just isn't a safe space for them to operate either for themselves or other road/ pavement users.

I'll be sticking with my children's push scooter!

ChainJane · 29/07/2021 08:34

I can't believe all the negativity about scooters here. Scooters are part of the solution for climate change, the will mean that people have an alternative to the car for shortish journeys. I'll probably get one when they're legal (so long as I can override any speed limit they put on it, shouldn't be a problem with a Chinese import) for my commute to work.

Yes, people will be killed - both users and pedestrians. But that's the same with cars, the same with bicycles. Collisions cause deaths. So will climate change, apparently.

suspiria777 · 29/07/2021 08:35

@ChainJane

I can't believe all the negativity about scooters here. Scooters are part of the solution for climate change, the will mean that people have an alternative to the car for shortish journeys. I'll probably get one when they're legal (so long as I can override any speed limit they put on it, shouldn't be a problem with a Chinese import) for my commute to work.

Yes, people will be killed - both users and pedestrians. But that's the same with cars, the same with bicycles. Collisions cause deaths. So will climate change, apparently.

Jesus, what the hell is the matter with you?
Foxyloxy1plus1 · 29/07/2021 08:38

zebraaa I think some children riding them are doing so for fun. They aren’t fun though; they’re lethal weapons, particularly when ridden by children, with no thought to other road or pavement users and no regard for their own safety.

I cannot believe that the children I’ve seen on them are of an age to have a driving licence and they certainly aren’t wearing a helmet or protective clothing. They’re illegal, except in trial areas, dangerous in the wrong hands and they’re mostly in the wrong hands and antisocial.

OneTC · 29/07/2021 08:40

They've made cycling in London even more bonkers but they're inevitable I reckon

DynamoKev · 29/07/2021 08:42

Emphasis is just a typo presumably, I think we can all get the gist of the post
I have no ducking clue what emphasis means in the context of the OP, it reads in quite a humorous way but makes zero sense.