These fecking electric scooters are doing my head in- aibu

[Ihatepeople123]

I live in an area where theyr doing a council run electric scooter trial- you pick one up from one of the designated bays and have to drop it off at another bay. There are loads of them so that’s not really an issue for riders, but those scooters really do my head in!

the riders have no respect for anyone else, they don’t wear helmets, half the time they have headphones in and just whizz past you with no warning, they’re meant to be on the roads but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one on the road. I nearly got knocked over by one this morning when I bent down to pick up after the dog and didn’t notice it coming up behind me.

my kids used to walk to school alone (10 min walk, y5 and 6) but I’ve started walking with them again now because they’ve told me that they’re scared to walk due to these idiots on scooters, most of whom attend the local high school, zipping past them and nearly knocking them over. The other day I saw a guy on a scooter with a lit spliff hanging out of his mouth, headphones in, speeding down the pavement.

I think electric scooters aren’t a bad idea if used correctly, but aibu to be totally peeved off with them and wish they would stop the trials and just ban the damn things? It’ll be even worse when they make them legal nationwide….

The people doing modifications need to be licensed. So many are adding mods that increase the maximum speed and importing parts from places like China which may not test as thoroughly.

I agree. It's madness. Part of the problem though is that many of the electric bikes/scooters you see aren't legal.

Road legal ebikes have a very small motor which is restricted to 15.5 mph output and they also have to be pedalled. So just like any other bicycle it stops when you stop pedalling. The govt calls them electrically assisted pedal cycles' (EAPCs) because that's all they can do - assist you to go up hills or manage a longer distance. I've got one of these but I've also got a full motorbike licence so at least I've had training on two wheels!

Any electric bike that's on the road and doesn't comply with those power/speed/pedal rules is classed as a motorbike. So it DOES needs a licence (and that also means age restrictions), the rider has to wear a helmet and the bike is meant to be registered, taxed and insured.

But I'm encountering so many ebikes that have either been modified with a much bigger motor (ebay and the like are full of those) or they're bikes which are sold supposedly for "off road" use only.

Those things are throttle controlled with large motors and top speeds that can match or even beat a 50cc scooter. And even though they're only supposed to be used on private land, as you say, people are riding them on the roads (and pavements) without any training, insurance or a helmet.

It's noticeable when the Police/press release videos of incidents involving ebikes that the rider is often scooting along at speed and not pedalling. So they're unlikely to be riding legally.

There's a similar mess with escooters as to what's legal and what isn't and people are riding them without knowing what the hell they're doing. The whole thing needs sorting out as far too many people are getting hurt.

Absolutely hate them with a passion. At the very least it should be compulsory to wear a helmet. They weave through traffic, almost invisible, don’t indicate.
I also work in a hospital and the number of head injuries that result is….. unsurprising.

Because sooner or later, a driver will kill one of them.

Well drivers have been killing each other for years

And a helmet is unlikely to save them

Same. Usually 2 on one scooter, wearing all black and a balaclava thinking they look tough

Round our way, the biggest problem seems to be that the Venn diagram of people that these scooters attract and Twats is almost a perfect circle.