Electric scooter

[LA1988]

My son is going to be 12 in 2 weeks & has asked for an electric scooter. We live half an hour from his school & I dont drive so thought it was a reasonable present. Trouble is after looking online etc I have no idea what one to get him. Theres so many out there. He's tall for a 12yr old but the adult ones look too big & the kids ones look too small. I dont want to spend a fortune because I want to get him some little presents to go with it but money is more stretched this time of year due to most of my familys days are around this time & Christmas not that far away. Any advice or help much appreciated for a very confused & stressed mum.

They're illegal (on public land) so I wouldn't if I were you.

Can you get him a bike instead? It'd be cheaper too...

This. Police have been confiscating them where I live.

Get him a bike instead.

My son had one of these and my heart was in my mouth every time he left the house, the speed they can go. I also didn't know you couldn't use them on public roads and paths, I sold it 2 months later.

I bought him an electric bike.

They are both illegal and dangerous. Police are clamping down in many areas. Where would he park it at school? They would be unlikely to allow it on the premises. Many of them are Chinese imports without the safety cutouts for charging the batteries that you get with recognised brands like Bosch or Shimano and they can be a serious fire hazard when charging. Seriously, think again.
If you do think about getting him a bike, it would need to be a normal (not electric) bike as all the issues with cheap Chinese batteries still apply and electric bikes are illegal to ride below 14 in the UK.

Please don't buy your 12yo an electric scooter. Either he will be seriously injured or even die, or he will cause other accidents as cars try to avoid killing him.

The only legal electric scooters are the ones you can hire by the hour in some cities. This is because those scooters have a registration plate, you need to show a driving licence to hire one, and the hire fee includes a basic 3rd-party insurance so that if you do scoot dangerously and cause a smash-up the people whose cars get smashed have a way to claim and the police have a way to trace and prosecute you. No 12 year old is capable of handling one safely.

He can use a non-electric scooter or a bike.

Absolutely not. They are illegal. Please read up on the rules and regulations of scooter ownership and don't let him be influenced by peer pressure.
At that age he should be riding a bike to school.

Unbelievable you would even consider it. Just get him a regular bike or scooter.

Another one here to shout out THEY ARE ILLEGAL.
Unless you use it on private land. Unless your son is Prince George who could legally ride around the grounds of Windsor Castle then he can't have one.
Simple.
(I really don't understand why UK retailers like Currys even sell the damm things)

I did say wouldn't a bike be better but because all his friends have electric scooter's, he wants one too

Well you have to tell him no.
Illegal is illegal.

I didnt realise they were illegal. I have seen so many kids from his school riding to and from school on them. Makes me question how they can be allowed them. I think i will have to have a reasonable discussion with him about it & do alot of convincing to get a bike. Thank you all for your advice

They're illegal. The police are finally starting to crack down on them in our area.

Same here. They are being taken away and crushed.

Show him that they're illegal, there's a gov.uk site that explains it if you Google it.
Find a news article on fire risk in electric scooters.

Tell him if he wants one, you'll buy him a bike.

Happy birthday to your DS 🎂

Maybe suggest to his school that they get someone from the police to do an assembly about how dangerous and illegal scooters are.

Why are you happy for him to ride a scooter illegally?

Why are some not aware that they are illegal in public places . There’s so much publicity about it in the media, no one should be ignorant. The Police need to be ruthless about confiscating and crushing them to deter parents from stupidly buying them for their children for Christmas. It’s disgusting that the Police are allowing them to be ridden with impunity in many areas.

I didnt know they were illegal & because where we live i have seen lots of kids from his school using them. The school have not said anything about the scooter's being banned & I see people/kids whizzing round on them all the time when im out shopping.

The Police often ignore them where I live. Something needs doing about it. Why are shops allowed to sell them to anybody? Perhaps the school could be involved, since so many are using them to go to school.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8j8xzn7krko

These children died on an electric scooter, as have many more. I wouldn't buy one for my 12 yo.

If the children were riding on an E scooter, the parents will be living with a huge burden of guilt for the rest of their lives! Such a tragedy, yet these E scooters are everywhere.

I am surprised your school hasn't stopped them.
Maybe the head teacher doesn't know they're illegal either.