Electric scooters ?

[Deleted User]

foxy-stoat said:

venomx said:

lordmountararat said:

A young lad shot out in front of me yesterday on one of these lethal electric scooters. I didn't have the opportunity to remind him that riding these wretched things is only legal on private land. If the government does change the law, I hope it insists on age limits, helmet, insurance and training.

No different from riding a push bike like an idiot though ?

Or a car for that matter, only difference is you have someone to claim off when the numpty hits you.

Not sure how many people have been killed on an E-Scooter, think there was 1 a few months ago - a lot more people die in "legal" cars driven "legally".  Around here as long as your not riding like an idiot, wear high vis and crack hat then the police seem not to bother.  One chap I know with one got stopped and they let him go on his way as they were only worried if it was a petrol scooter.  Not sure if their attitude has changed since.

You can often claim if there is a bike / car accident, many cyclists have membership of things like British cycling which covers third party liability, the problem is with random people on bikes (not cyclists) who don't have cover but even then may through something like home insurance. I think e-bikes should be licensed personally, they're not much less than scooters, particularly the ones who shoot alone without even pedaling, and police should crack down on the illegally modified ones that do more than 15mph.

Car_54

Deleted_User said:

foxy-stoat said:

venomx said:

lordmountararat said:

A young lad shot out in front of me yesterday on one of these lethal electric scooters. I didn't have the opportunity to remind him that riding these wretched things is only legal on private land. If the government does change the law, I hope it insists on age limits, helmet, insurance and training.

No different from riding a push bike like an idiot though ?

Or a car for that matter, only difference is you have someone to claim off when the numpty hits you.

Not sure how many people have been killed on an E-Scooter, think there was 1 a few months ago - a lot more people die in "legal" cars driven "legally".  Around here as long as your not riding like an idiot, wear high vis and crack hat then the police seem not to bother.  One chap I know with one got stopped and they let him go on his way as they were only worried if it was a petrol scooter.  Not sure if their attitude has changed since.

the problem is with random people on bikes (not cyclists)

Dictionary definition: cyclist = a person who rides a bicycle

Am I missing something?

lcc86

Deleted_User said:

foxy-stoat said:

venomx said:

lordmountararat said:

A young lad shot out in front of me yesterday on one of these lethal electric scooters. I didn't have the opportunity to remind him that riding these wretched things is only legal on private land. If the government does change the law, I hope it insists on age limits, helmet, insurance and training.

No different from riding a push bike like an idiot though ?

Or a car for that matter, only difference is you have someone to claim off when the numpty hits you.

Not sure how many people have been killed on an E-Scooter, think there was 1 a few months ago - a lot more people die in "legal" cars driven "legally".  Around here as long as your not riding like an idiot, wear high vis and crack hat then the police seem not to bother.  One chap I know with one got stopped and they let him go on his way as they were only worried if it was a petrol scooter.  Not sure if their attitude has changed since.

You can often claim if there is a bike / car accident, many cyclists have membership of things like British cycling which covers third party liability, the problem is with random people on bikes (not cyclists) who don't have cover but even then may through something like home insurance. I think e-bikes should be licensed personally, they're not much less than scooters, particularly the ones who shoot alone without even pedaling, and police should crack down on the illegally modified ones that do more than 15mph.

I think it's the disparity between the two which is potentially unfair. In theory electric scooters and bikes are a great alternative to polluting our cities and would help cut down congestion which benefits all of us. There probably should be some sort of registration component (maybe like a CBT equivalent or similar). Im guessing that as it stands you wouldn't be covered on home insurance as they're illegal on public roads so no insurer would pay out. If someone on an e-scooter rode into the back of my car, for example, I guess I'd be stuck footing the bill? I think the cat is out of the bag as they're becoming so popular now (maybe a lot of people don't know they're still illegal, I didn't until yesterday!), and police no doubt have more important things to do than chase down everyone they see riding one. 

AdrianC

There was a consultation over the summer...
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/legalising-rental-e-scooter-trials-defining-e-scooters-and-rules-for-their-use/legalising-rental-e-scooter-trials

Jack_Cork

AdrianC said:

There was a consultation over the summer...
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/legalising-rental-e-scooter-trials-defining-e-scooters-and-rules-for-their-use/legalising-rental-e-scooter-trials

And a trial started yesterday
https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/trial-legal-e-scooter-rental-4567490 

lcc86

Jack_Cork said:

AdrianC said:

There was a consultation over the summer...
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/legalising-rental-e-scooter-trials-defining-e-scooters-and-rules-for-their-use/legalising-rental-e-scooter-trials

And a trial started yesterday
https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/trial-legal-e-scooter-rental-4567490 

Thanks. Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if they did trials for e-bikes before rolling those out? I'm sure they have their reasons but seems like a lot of faff!

Herzlos

lcc86 said:

Jack_Cork said:

AdrianC said:

There was a consultation over the summer...
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/legalising-rental-e-scooter-trials-defining-e-scooters-and-rules-for-their-use/legalising-rental-e-scooter-trials

And a trial started yesterday
https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/trial-legal-e-scooter-rental-4567490 

Thanks. Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if they did trials for e-bikes before rolling those out? I'm sure they have their reasons but seems like a lot of faff!

I'm not sure they needed ones, e-bikes are just bikes which provide pedal assist up to 15mph*, so they don't do anything a regular bike can do except it's a bit easier for the rider.

E-scooters seem pretty handy for longish treks across pedestrianized areas, assuming they don't go very fast. Though at 20p/minute in that trial I can't see them being very popular, it'd presumably not be much more expensive to just get a taxi/bus to wherever you wanted to go.

*You can get some that don't meet UK standards which will propel themselves without needing to pedal, or which go faster than 15mph, but they are already illegal.

Car_54

Herzlos said:

lcc86 said:

Jack_Cork said:

AdrianC said:

There was a consultation over the summer...
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/legalising-rental-e-scooter-trials-defining-e-scooters-and-rules-for-their-use/legalising-rental-e-scooter-trials

And a trial started yesterday
https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/trial-legal-e-scooter-rental-4567490 

Thanks. Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if they did trials for e-bikes before rolling those out? I'm sure they have their reasons but seems like a lot of faff!

E-scooters seem pretty handy for longish treks across pedestrianized areas, assuming they don't go very fast.

AIUI the new report from the Transport Select Committee recommends that they should be allowed on the roads, but NOT on footpaths or ped areas.

Scrapit

Segways were never legalised so its not a forgone conclusion.

Grumpy_chap

It seems as though the horse has bolted with the electric scooters because they are so cheap as to be readily available that they are becoming a common sight.  If they are now legalised, they can be done in a way that there are rules set out for their safe use which is not possible when any use is illegal.  The other alternative is to keep them illegal and have a stringent campaign of enforcement to drive them to the skip.

I realise that legalising something just because it is a regularly broken law is fundamentally flawed and cannot be applied universally.  That is why I gave the option of enforcing the current prohibition.

The same thing never happened with Segways because the price point was much higher which prevented the type of mass take-up that the scooters have achieved.