Private E-Scooters Fun

[Roobaba]

Private e-scooters: Police warn about illegal misuse
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-birmingham-59747082

Private e-scooters fun.. or menace?

[emmie]

menace round our way, they ride on pavements, bah...

[emmie]

time and time again i see them ride down the middle of the street or weave in and out of traffic, so dangerous to do that, but they don't seem to care.

[dannyk13]

OK when used properly on private land. A menace when used on public footpaths.

[emmie]

sadly some are begging to be run over, the way they ride these dangerous machines.

[Spicerack]

Probably good fun for young people. + they give older people another thing to moan about.
Pretty odd legal set up. You can ride them if hired from the Gov.
But you can't own them.
Testing for the end of private car ownership, perhaps.

[emmie]

it's not all young people riding them, i see many are older people, maybe not ancient, but not just for kids.

[davebro]

They do zip along quite fast - often in traffic & without any safety gear. Bound to be serious accidents I woulda thought.

[barry1010]

Spicerack, with the hired scooters the rider can be identified, with private scooters they can't. So if they do hit somebody and run off they can be traced.

I can think of a few older people with mobility issues that would find these useful to get around :)

The police local to me often post photos of seized scooters.

[emmie]

whoever uses one is at risk of instant death, they shouldn't be on our roads, pavements neither.

[Stickybottle]

Death traps
Heart in my mouth in the summer as 3 children on a single scooter thought it was fun to ride on the pavement at speed not 4 feet away from heavy traffic
Amazed there have not been more serious injuries so far from their misuse

[emmie]

i also have seen two people on one scooter, no cycle helmets riding around our way, on busy roads and an accident waiting to happen.

[emmie]

The victim is one of the first e-scooter drivers to die in the UK. In July 2019, YouTube star and TV presenter Emily Hartridge, 35, died after losing control due to a flat tyre and was thrown under a lorry in Battersea, London. Last year, grandad Julian Thomas, 55, was killed when his e-scooter crashed into a parked car in South Wales.

[barry1010]

Are they really any more dangerous for the rider than the sit on scooter, moped or motorbike?

[New Judge]

Who cares about the idiotic rider?

[barry1010]

emmie seems to, NJ. :D
They aren't all idiotic, to be fair.

[emmie]

they are because there is no protection whatsoever. not seen one person wear a crash/cycle helmet, and they can go quite fast.
danger to other road users too.

[emmie]

i care when these idiots are on the pavements, they are illegally riding on them.

[dannyk13]

Barry //Are they really any more dangerous for the rider than the sit on scooter, moped or motorbike?//
Yes they are,mopeds scooters and motorcyles are balanced by the rider being sat astride which is much safer than being stood on a narrow board.

[barry1010]

I've seen them wearing helmets. No real protection on traditional scooters/mopeds/motorbikes either although helmets are compulsory for them.

[Ken4155]

"Who cares about the idiotic rider?"

The "idiotic rider's" family, perhaps.