Electric scooters
- Thread starter TopCat
- Start date
not-bono-ever
meh
Sitting in a farmhouse in Northumberland - local news item about a rental scooter trial in Middlesbrough- the local youth are trashing them already, riding around indoor shopping malls and a pair have been arrested on the A19 dual carriageway the other night. The British are arseholes .
not-bono-ever
meh
I wouldn’t go on A19 in a humvee , it’s utterly lethal
Bahnhof Strasse
Met up with Hannah Courtoy a week next Tuesday
The more I see of these in that there Europe-land the more I can see how hire ones work. If you own one what do you do when you park it? Some cunt will have it away in seconds in the U.K.
TopCat
Putin fanboy
Take it in with you. Folded or not.
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough rolls out first e-Bike and e-Scooter scheme
The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority says it is to become the first region to roll out both e-Bikes and e-Scooters to the public.
cyclingindustry.news
hash tag
Books, not bombs
Take care on scooters and look after them.
Emily Hartridge: Deflated tyre 'caused YouTuber's e-scooter crash'
TV presenter Emily Hartridge was thrown under a lorry and killed in the accident, a coroner says.
www.bbc.co.uk
teuchter
je suis teuchter
Legalise e-scooters, says Transport Committee - Committees - UK Parliament
<p class="p-standard">In a report published today, <em>E-scooters: pavement nuisance or transport innovation</em>, the Committee says that e-scooters have the potential to offer a low cost, accessible and environmentally friendly alternative to the private car. </p> <ul> <li...
Hollis
bloody furious
From the report:
Enforcement
96.Several witnesses highlighted that robust enforcement will be needed to prevent users riding e-scooters on pavements.169 However, there were concerns about how successful this would be in practice, and whether authorities and police would have the capacity to enforce pavement use effectively.170 The Bicycle Association noted that there was a lack of clarity on the offences that apply to illegal use of e-scooters, and the AA questioned how strictly the e-scooter trials would be enforced.171 The Local Government Association told us that councils will require additional funding to enforce e-scooter safety restrictions.172 The RNIB wanted a Government publicity campaign on e-scooters, with clear messaging not to use them on pavements.173
97.E-scooter operators told us about some of the technical tools available to identify whether a user has ridden on the pavement. Lime told us that they can retrospectively identify if a user has ridden on the pavement by comparing the data from users’ journeys. It is then possible to penalize a user retrospectively.174 Voi said “where people try to break the law, there are ways in which we can stop them. If we know that someone is reported with GPS, we will know who that person was and when they did it. We can enforce that later.” Voi also said that over time, with improvements in technology, it may be possible to more proactively identify e-scooter users riding illegally on pavements.175 There remain wider concerns about enforcing the use of privately owned e-scooters, which are not part of the trials, as they are not subject to restrictions and penalties by an operator in the same way rental ones are.
98.In its guidance for e-scooter operators and local authorities, the Department said that prior to approving a trial scheme, the operator and local authority must demonstrate that they have considered enforcement issues with the relevant authorities, and that the e-scooter vehicles they plan to deploy can be made visible and distinct from privately owned e-scooters.176 The Minister told us “we would not authorise any trial to go ahead unless it had evidence that it had engaged with the law enforcement agencies in its local area and had constructed a robust and realistic enforcement plan.” The Minister clarified the offences for illegal e-scooter use: “users can be fined up to £300. They can have six points put on their driving licence, and the e-scooter can be impounded. There are also offences under the Road Traffic Act related to drunk driving and careless driving. They would also apply to e-scooter users.”177
99.An e-scooter travelling on a pavement at a speed of up to 15.5 mph is a serious hazard both for the user and pedestrians. Local authorities need plans in place to monitor and discourage pavement use during rental trials in their local areas. Rental e-scooter operators must use the technology available to vigorously discourage pavement use. Local authorities and e-scooter operators must be able to demonstrate that measures to tackle such dangerous and antisocial behaviour are effective.
100.In responding to this Report, the Department should clarify how it intends to monitor whether e-scooters during the rental trials are being ridden on pavements and the number of users penalised for this offence and that it has evaluated and identified effective measures to eliminate such antisocial behaviour.
101.Should privately-owned e-scooters be legalised, the Government should ensure that the law clearly prohibits the pavement use of e-scooters, that there are robust enforcement measures are in place and that such measures are effective in eliminating this behaviour.
I'm remain completely dubious about effective enforcement, unless there's some fancy technological solution - which can be applied to privately owned e-scooters. At the moment they're all over the pavements.
Enforcement
96.Several witnesses highlighted that robust enforcement will be needed to prevent users riding e-scooters on pavements.169 However, there were concerns about how successful this would be in practice, and whether authorities and police would have the capacity to enforce pavement use effectively.170 The Bicycle Association noted that there was a lack of clarity on the offences that apply to illegal use of e-scooters, and the AA questioned how strictly the e-scooter trials would be enforced.171 The Local Government Association told us that councils will require additional funding to enforce e-scooter safety restrictions.172 The RNIB wanted a Government publicity campaign on e-scooters, with clear messaging not to use them on pavements.173
97.E-scooter operators told us about some of the technical tools available to identify whether a user has ridden on the pavement. Lime told us that they can retrospectively identify if a user has ridden on the pavement by comparing the data from users’ journeys. It is then possible to penalize a user retrospectively.174 Voi said “where people try to break the law, there are ways in which we can stop them. If we know that someone is reported with GPS, we will know who that person was and when they did it. We can enforce that later.” Voi also said that over time, with improvements in technology, it may be possible to more proactively identify e-scooter users riding illegally on pavements.175 There remain wider concerns about enforcing the use of privately owned e-scooters, which are not part of the trials, as they are not subject to restrictions and penalties by an operator in the same way rental ones are.
98.In its guidance for e-scooter operators and local authorities, the Department said that prior to approving a trial scheme, the operator and local authority must demonstrate that they have considered enforcement issues with the relevant authorities, and that the e-scooter vehicles they plan to deploy can be made visible and distinct from privately owned e-scooters.176 The Minister told us “we would not authorise any trial to go ahead unless it had evidence that it had engaged with the law enforcement agencies in its local area and had constructed a robust and realistic enforcement plan.” The Minister clarified the offences for illegal e-scooter use: “users can be fined up to £300. They can have six points put on their driving licence, and the e-scooter can be impounded. There are also offences under the Road Traffic Act related to drunk driving and careless driving. They would also apply to e-scooter users.”177
99.An e-scooter travelling on a pavement at a speed of up to 15.5 mph is a serious hazard both for the user and pedestrians. Local authorities need plans in place to monitor and discourage pavement use during rental trials in their local areas. Rental e-scooter operators must use the technology available to vigorously discourage pavement use. Local authorities and e-scooter operators must be able to demonstrate that measures to tackle such dangerous and antisocial behaviour are effective.
100.In responding to this Report, the Department should clarify how it intends to monitor whether e-scooters during the rental trials are being ridden on pavements and the number of users penalised for this offence and that it has evaluated and identified effective measures to eliminate such antisocial behaviour.
101.Should privately-owned e-scooters be legalised, the Government should ensure that the law clearly prohibits the pavement use of e-scooters, that there are robust enforcement measures are in place and that such measures are effective in eliminating this behaviour.
I'm remain completely dubious about effective enforcement, unless there's some fancy technological solution - which can be applied to privately owned e-scooters. At the moment they're all over the pavements.
TopCat
Putin fanboy
16 serious accidents. A drop in the ocean.
editor
hiraethified
Yeah, but it's going to rise and rise given the huge increase in scooter usage and the 'fuck you' attitude of some riders.
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
Let’s hope the burden of fault/ responsibility in accidents involving scooter riders and motor vehicles doesn’t fall unfairly on the latter simply because they were the less vulnerable of the two, certainly in those cases when the scooter riders were behaving like dicks.
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
Fairly is certainly the operative word. Because if someone is riding a scooter at night on the pavement and decides to suddenly jump onto the road at 15 mph from behind a parked van without even checking for incoming traffic to avoid peds on the pavement; or if they ride the wrong way up a narrow one-way street; or jump a set of red lights at a busy junction; or generally behave recklessly and illegaly in a number of other ways, if they then get hit by a vehicle the driver of the latter would be (or certainly should be) completely blameless unless they were driving recklessly or illegally as well.
If they're riding legally and sensibly and get hit by a vehicle not showing due care or attention, or breaking the law, the driver should have the book thrown at them of course.
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As mentioned elsewhere on these boards i am currently having to navigate as a pedestrian with my right eye only.Was already somewhat daunted by presence on the pavement of young scamps on electric scooters I now realise how much more harrowing this is for the visually-challenged.I like the idea but don't know how they will be kept off the pavements not to mention pedestrianised areas.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
Well, we've been through this argument before, but if drivers aren't driving in such a way that they have a reasonable chance of stopping in response to something unexpectedly emerging from behind a parked vehicle, then they are not driving safely. The Highway Code says they should be anticipating the possibility of children emerging from between parked vehicles, so they should already be doing what is necessary to avoid a collision with a scooter emerging unexpectedly.
Scooter riders should be doing the same, of course.
Saul Goodman
It's all good, man
I think people have a responsibility to not walk or ride into the path of a motor vehicle. If people want to do it, good luck to them but something in physics means they'll probably lose. I just hope they don't damage anyone's car in the process.
editor
hiraethified
That's pretty much where I am on it. Love the idea - anything that encourages people to get out of their stinky cars is fine by me - but practically, where I live, they're already becoming a fucking pain in the arse.
TopCat
Putin fanboy
Curmudgeon!
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
And if they jump red lights? Or are riding the wrong way up a narrow one way street, hit a parked car and fall right in front of a moving vehicle travelling legally towards them? Or they rear end a car waiting at a red lights?
There are a good number of situations- however infrequent- in which even the UK Highway Code could not find the motor vehicle driver at fault in a collision with a non-vehicle user, if the latter is breaking the HC and behaving recklessly.
The best a driver can usually expect from any such incident involving a ped or cyclist is to be found not at fault- forget about claiming repair costs from the other party. But since scooter riders have to be insured, I hope that they will at least be seen as liable if they were found to be at fault in a collision, and made to pay for any damage caused to the other party’s vehicle.
editor
hiraethified
Met Police update. 70MPH scooters!
The Met has provided an update on the latest advice to people using e-scooters in London.
Chief Superintendent Simon Ovens, from the Met’s Road and Transport Policing Command, said privately owned e-scooters remain illegal on roads and in public places.
Chf Supt Ovens said: “I believe that some people are using e-scooters as an attractive mode of transport, especially in their commute to work, but they remain notoriously dangerous, and illegal when driven in public areas or on the roads. Under the Road Traffic Act 1988, it is the equivalent of riding a motorcycle on the road without any MOT, tax or insurance.
“Whilst we have seized e-scooters which can operate up to 40 mph, there are some which can reach 70 mph. There is no test required to be able to ride one which means people often do not have an understanding of the road awareness; they do not wear a helmet or have lights on them so riding one means they are putting themselves and others at risk, especially at this time of year with the early evenings.”
Due to their illegal use, collisions on e-scooters are underreported. In 2018 there were four reported collisions and in 2019 that rose to 32.
Ch Supt Ovens continued: “My priority is to keep people safe on our roads and make sure people are aware of the rules and look out for their own, and others, safety.
“In the lead up to Christmas, we want to remind people that if you are buying one, under current legislation, you can only ride it on private land with the land owner’s permission.
“If you are out on an e-scooter in London, expect to be stopped by officers as we continue to help keep Londoners safe.”
Offences committed can include, but are not exclusive to, operating a vehicle without insurance, contravening a cycle lane, or riding them on the pavement. Officers can issue e-scooter riders with a Traffic Offence Report (TOR), where appropriate. The consequences of this can be up to a £300 fine and six points on your driving licence.
Operation Hornet, the Met’s safety operation around e-scooters, has now been running for over a year. This allows officers to give one-time warnings to those who are stopped after explaining the legislation to them. To date officers have seized 268 e-scooters and given 604 warnings.
Due to the speeds they can go, and because they are silent and unregistered we are now seeing them being used to commit crime. Since July we have had reports of over 290 crimes carried out involving one for various offences including robbery, assault and theft currently under investigation by officers.
Public safety remains our utmost priority and this Road Safety Week (RSW) is a reminder to every one of the dangers of riding an e-scooter illegally both to the individual and those on the road or pavements in London.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Metropolitan Police Service recognises the need for more sustainable and greener methods of transport however, it is important that members of the public realise that under current legislation, the riding of private e-scooters on the road or in a public place remains illegal.
Specific legislation has been put in place for an e-scooter trial which could take place in the spring in London. The Met fully support this and the trial will focus on the safety of both the rider and road users. Fundamentally, we want to keep members of the public safe on the roads and pavements in London.
Further advice can be found at:
Powered transporters.
The Met has provided an update on the latest advice to people using e-scooters in London.
Chief Superintendent Simon Ovens, from the Met’s Road and Transport Policing Command, said privately owned e-scooters remain illegal on roads and in public places.
Chf Supt Ovens said: “I believe that some people are using e-scooters as an attractive mode of transport, especially in their commute to work, but they remain notoriously dangerous, and illegal when driven in public areas or on the roads. Under the Road Traffic Act 1988, it is the equivalent of riding a motorcycle on the road without any MOT, tax or insurance.
“Whilst we have seized e-scooters which can operate up to 40 mph, there are some which can reach 70 mph. There is no test required to be able to ride one which means people often do not have an understanding of the road awareness; they do not wear a helmet or have lights on them so riding one means they are putting themselves and others at risk, especially at this time of year with the early evenings.”
Due to their illegal use, collisions on e-scooters are underreported. In 2018 there were four reported collisions and in 2019 that rose to 32.
Ch Supt Ovens continued: “My priority is to keep people safe on our roads and make sure people are aware of the rules and look out for their own, and others, safety.
“In the lead up to Christmas, we want to remind people that if you are buying one, under current legislation, you can only ride it on private land with the land owner’s permission.
“If you are out on an e-scooter in London, expect to be stopped by officers as we continue to help keep Londoners safe.”
Offences committed can include, but are not exclusive to, operating a vehicle without insurance, contravening a cycle lane, or riding them on the pavement. Officers can issue e-scooter riders with a Traffic Offence Report (TOR), where appropriate. The consequences of this can be up to a £300 fine and six points on your driving licence.
Operation Hornet, the Met’s safety operation around e-scooters, has now been running for over a year. This allows officers to give one-time warnings to those who are stopped after explaining the legislation to them. To date officers have seized 268 e-scooters and given 604 warnings.
Due to the speeds they can go, and because they are silent and unregistered we are now seeing them being used to commit crime. Since July we have had reports of over 290 crimes carried out involving one for various offences including robbery, assault and theft currently under investigation by officers.
Public safety remains our utmost priority and this Road Safety Week (RSW) is a reminder to every one of the dangers of riding an e-scooter illegally both to the individual and those on the road or pavements in London.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Metropolitan Police Service recognises the need for more sustainable and greener methods of transport however, it is important that members of the public realise that under current legislation, the riding of private e-scooters on the road or in a public place remains illegal.
Specific legislation has been put in place for an e-scooter trial which could take place in the spring in London. The Met fully support this and the trial will focus on the safety of both the rider and road users. Fundamentally, we want to keep members of the public safe on the roads and pavements in London.
Further advice can be found at:
Powered transporters.
Bahnhof Strasse
Met up with Hannah Courtoy a week next Tuesday
This is bollocks though:
There's loads of these things whizzing around London, a place with gazillions of Old Bill lurking around. All they need to do is stop one and they can confiscate it, they could take hundreds in a single day. Not like you'll be rushing out to buy a new one for a couple of hundred quid a pop...
I call bullshit on them leccy scooters doing 70mph. That’s some speed that.
Nivag
Well-Known Member
70 is pushing it on a scooter! My friends Suron electric bike easily does 50mph and I saw this unicycle on earlier this year. I'm doing 40mph
