Private electric scooters are banned on public roads,but they are a common sight across London and the UK.
Figures from the police show that e-scooters were involved in over 20,000 crimes over three years leading up to 2024,including drug crime and robberies.
E-scooters have been illegally modified to go faster than they are designed to. A modified scooter capable of going at 62mph was caught in Merseyside last week.
People have been seriously injured when e-scooter riders have knocked them over,and campaigners have said that unregulated e-scooters are a risk to blind and disabled people.
Raquel Delgado-Calos,a veterinary surgeon,suffered a fractured skull when scooter rider Joseph Pedelty jumped a red light and mowed her down in Portsmouth last year.
In 2022,grandmother Linda Davis,71,died five days after being hit by an e-scooter in Nottinghamshire during a walk,ridden by a 14-year-old boy.
The planned legislation would target owned scooters,so not those rented through an app.
(Picture: PA)
‘We are looking at a spectrum of possibilities,but not all of those are likely to happen.’
The consultation,which could be rolled in early next year,is about ‘safety,but also the way they are used in crime,and that we have an increasing private market of scooters that is unregulated. E-scooters are not limited in terms of speed or weight.’
As a first step,e-scooters need to be made legal so that they can be treated like mopeds,roads lawyer Nick Freeman,known as Mr Loophole,told Metro.
He said: ‘There are around a million private e-scooters on our roads at the moment.
‘It is quite clear that they are very prevalent,very convenient and environmentally friendly,and they do need to be legislated for.
‘It is a bit like turning your blind eye on cannabis use – it is going on obviously,but we need legislation in place to manage the problem rather than pretending they are not there.
‘We need urgently to tackle the problem of lawless possession and lawless use,and it should be done without delay.
‘If we have relevant legislation in place,it will make e-scooters safer for users,pedestrians and other road users.
‘E-scooters do have their place on our roads,I can see the benefits of them,although I would rather have people cycling. The advantage of a cycle is that it is good for your health. With an e-scooter,you are getting fresh air in our congested cities,but at least you’re out of a car,which is good.’
‘What I’m hoping the legislation introduces as a starting point is some form of identification plate similar to a motor vehicle.’
He warned that without a form of identification and ways to trace the users the new legislation will be ‘impotent.’
E-scooters are already governed under the Road Traffic Act 1988,so there is already legislation in place ‘to deal with people who are using them,’ Mr Freeman said.
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