Should E Scooters be banned?

We were driving behind one last week, this guy was literally all over the road. We wondered if he had been drinking, but eventually when we were able to overtake him, it was apparent he was texting on his mobile
What a menace

You have to have a provisional driving licence to use one. My son uses one in Cheltenham where they are being trialled. My son says he uses those he rents on the road and I’m confident he uses it responsibly. In fact when I helped him move house my car was so full he took a scooter to his new place and he beat me.
However when I was in Bristol recently they were being ridden on the pavement and could easily knock someone over. I’m not sure what the answer is to be honest but we should allow experiments like this if we want to reduce petrol and diesel vehicles on the roads.

I can see their attraction, as an alternative to a bicycle, but the problem is that our roads are not equipped for them and therefore they interfere with pedestrians and other traffic.

In an ideal scenario there would be bicycle and e scooter lanes. As it is, on balance I'm against them, on the basis that they are a hazard.

I don't think they would be used much as an alternative to short car journeys. Many short car journeys are shopping trips and you can't get a lot of shopping on a scooter. They are more likely to be used by people without a driving licence, and who therefore haven't had to learn the highway code.

I think Norwich must be one of the cities trialling the use of these scooters. The council have a scheme where people can pick up bikes or scooters from various places around the outskirts and centre. We now have bikes and scooters all over the place. They're supposed to stick to bike lanes and roads. They don't.

Flexagon

We have Spin scooters on trial. I've tried one and enjoyed it.

Most people I see are using them responsibly but, as with bikes, some are riding on pavements, riding in the wrong direction on roads and cycle paths and leaving them in odd places that impede pedestrians.

The rules and recommendations are:

Complete the training via the app before your first ride
Wear a helmet
Never ride on the pavement
Stick to designated cycle lanes where possible
Only ride on roads with a speed limit of 30 mph or less
Park responsibly and never block access for other road users, including driveways, bus stops and shop entrances
Wear a reflective vest or jacket when it is dark, for your own safety
One person per scooter
Ride sober
You must be 18+ and have a valid provisional or full driving licence

Every one of these rules needs to apply to E-Scooters, but only after they become legal. Currently they are illegal on the streets and public highways - unless being ‘trialled’ in some towns - and the biggest of the many problems is that they are being ridden without insurance.

Pedestrians - of any age - need to have a safe place to walk without anxiously watching out for wheeled transport running them down. If you are capable of travelling at any speed - especially on something like a cycle or a skateboard, why isn’t insurance cover mandatory - for the sake of others around you? Hurtling silently along a pavement on a scooter shows about as much wilful disregard as is possible towards the general public. Shops that sell scooters and think that they are being responsible when they tell customers they should only use them on private land are insulting our intelligence and fooling no one. The Police do almost nothing - although have started confiscating them in London. You have a law. Everyone breaks it. Nothing happens. What sort of society is that?
(And it goes without saying, the situation is just as bad in France!)

I’m no killjoy, but I don’t want anyone I know to be injured, maimed or worse as a result of total irresponsibility. So, until proper legal requirements are met, should E scooters be banned?

Definitely!

Blossoming

Namsnanny

I would ask if they weren't free everywhere, would people even bother to buy them.

The public is being 'groomed' to like them.

Where do I get my free e-scooter from? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one.

Where do you live? Look up your local council, they will tell you.

MerylStreep not exactly a claim to be proud of though.

Another big fat NO from me. The pavement cyclists are bad enough round here. Of course in the hands of sensible, sober, adults they might be fine but unfortunately there's no way of stopping idiots from buying or, more likely, stealing them. It's only people like that that I've seen with them. Recently four were going in and out of the central reservation of the road were driving on so bursting out in front of traffic going in both directions.They were so erratic that they must have been under the influence of some substance or other.

They need to be insured. Driven properly they would be very useful.
Bike riders and people on mobility scooters are just as dangerous. There should be a maximum speed that the scooter can go so speeding on them can't happen.

Mollygo
Your obviously a bit more up market than here in Southend ?

They have them in Norwich, supposedly just to be ridden on the roads. But they're fast and silent and like many bikes don't appear to have bells or brakes. I'm sure they're really green and a good thing, but I personally don't like them.

MerylStreep, the pond life in town near us use mopeds for bag snatching and drugs. I suppose they could buy E scooters more cheaply.

That’s very sad Chardy but I can assure I was in no way complicit in my own ‘accident’. I was walking in a railway station where bikes should not be ridden.

We need to blame the irresponsible riders - rather than the scooters.

Namsnanny

I would ask if they weren't free everywhere, would people even bother to buy them.

The public is being 'groomed' to like them.

Where do I get my free e-scooter from? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one.

I have to look left an£ right before opening my garden gate because of pavement cyclists,these will add to the problem.
A big fat NO.

SueDonim

I’ve been knocked down and badly injured by a cyclist - I shudder to think of the damage a collision with an e-scooter could cause.

Apologies for being morose, we had a 72 yr old woman killed after being hit by a cyclist in the town centre last year. Witnesses said the cyclist did nothing wrong, as the pedestrian crossed the road, she just didn't see the bike.

I have to use a mobility scooter as I have limited mobility, My scooter is registered with DVLA therefore I am able to drive on the roads. I think everyone should be taught how to use these scooters. I have seen folk using hired scooters and have cringed when I have seen how they use the machines, the riders being unaware of pedestrians having ‘right of way’ (after all the pavements are for them to walk on safely!).

Infinity2

Where I live we already have problems with e scooters and the tool of the tools, quad bikes. They roar up and down the roads round here, without helmets, ignoring the rules of the road.
E scooters ride all over the roads and pavements usually being ridden not by responsible adults but morons in masks and hoodies , even in this weather ! I saw one this morning through the window.

The tool of tools!
Brilliant Infinity2.

We have Spin scooters on trial. I've tried one and enjoyed it.

Most people I see are using them responsibly but, as with bikes, some are riding on pavements, riding in the wrong direction on roads and cycle paths and leaving them in odd places that impede pedestrians.

The rules and recommendations are:

Complete the training via the app before your first ride
Wear a helmet
Never ride on the pavement
Stick to designated cycle lanes where possible
Only ride on roads with a speed limit of 30 mph or less
Park responsibly and never block access for other road users, including driveways, bus stops and shop entrances
Wear a reflective vest or jacket when it is dark, for your own safety
One person per scooter
Ride sober
You must be 18+ and have a valid provisional or full driving licence

I’ve seen a mobile phone snatched by a scrote driving one and my daughter has seen a bag snatch.
But at least they enable the pond life to get around faster to operate their county lines drug deals.

If they reduce traffic, by replacing even some of the many (ridiculously) short car trips, I'm all in favour. Of course they should be speed-restricted and make some noise. Cleaner air is what we need!

We have them on trial in Bath and Bristol.

I had one whoosh past me at considerable speed recently. It was ridden by a heavyset man in his 30s/40s. The pavement is very wide but he chose to pass very close to me. You can’t legislate for idiots unfortunately.

They need speed restrictions built in and some kind of sound (though that wouldn’t help the deaf or hard of hearing) but would give some warning to most people.

Again mobility scooters need some kind of restrictor and sound. A woman was careering around Boots yesterday as if she was alone on a wide pavement. It could inflict serious damage if it ran you over and no insurance to cover time off work to recuperate or other expenses caused by the “accident”.

I do realise they are invaluable lifeline to people who really need them and use them sensibly.

Where I live we already have problems with e scooters and the tool of the tools, quad bikes. They roar up and down the roads round here, without helmets, ignoring the rules of the road.
E scooters ride all over the roads and pavements usually being ridden not by responsible adults but morons in masks and hoodies , even in this weather ! I saw one this morning through the window.