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E scooters

My son has been me and they really are Great fun
He went on to buy a more powerful one which was rather scary. Bigger heavier and faster
he has gone back to the smaller one and gets about on it very well
However, I am seeing a lot of teenagers on these, often riding two up and at full speed and suddenly shooting out of side roads into the middle of the carriageway and often when I am coming home at night as well as the kamikaze cyclists in dark clothing and no lights coming from all directions we now also have kids in black clothing on black scooters with no lights And often on the wrong side of the road
Unfortunately the absence of agreed sensible road rules aka The Highway Code is putting them at risk.
Yes they are brilliant for transport in a city but the implementation is a problem
 
I was in Lyon yesterday and they seem to be everywhere.
I hate them – they are in fact very dangerous in the traffic. They are at risk by their own fault.

I haven’t seen any wearing helmets.

Users tend to think they have specials road rights, thereby causing many scary episodes – at best.

Bad.
 
Has it occurred to anyone that: E Scooters; E Bikes; Cars; Buses; Lorries, etc aren't dangerous; it's the people in charge of these that are potentially dangerous?

Im all for choice and responsible behaviour; what I would say as someone who drives professionally is that I hope those who choose to buy and run/hire an E Scooter take the time to buy lighting and protective equipment.

I have recently started riding a pushbike again. I run with very good quality lighting-front and rear- even during the day. Motorists give me more space than I remember from previous experience; albeit back in 1998! :)
 
Imagine the outcry if HGVs and double decker buses never existed and were just about to be introduced.

Don't need to go that far back to the concerns about the first 2.5 Metre wide Diesel* Double Deck Buses in London.

In the 1950's, the Met' Police only allowed these Leyland RTW Buses on certain routes owing to concerns about congestion in the narrow streets of London!

*The first 2.5M wide vehicles were a batch of Trolleybuses diverted from SA due to shortages at LT.
 
Could some one please let me know if it is mandatory to have insurance for a scooter ( as like a car)? A scooter ran into my friends car a few weeks ago and the scratch was minor so nothing came of it.
In general do scooter riders have to follow the same rules for insurance /reporting accidents etc. as if another car was involved?
 
Could some one please let me know if it is mandatory to have insurance for a scooter ( as like a car)? A scooter ran into my friends car a few weeks ago and the scratch was minor so nothing came of it.
In general do scooter riders have to follow the same rules for insurance /reporting accidents etc. as if another car was involved?

Apparently so, but insurers won't touch it. Maybe I'm out of date though
 
Could some one please let me know if it is mandatory to have insurance for a scooter ( as like a car)? A scooter ran into my friends car a few weeks ago and the scratch was minor so nothing came of it.
In general do scooter riders have to follow the same rules for insurance /reporting accidents etc. as if another car was involved?

Is it not still illegal to ride an e-scooter except on private land?

Good article here Because they are illegal you cannot get insurance for them.

Currently, you can buy one but you can't ride it on a UK public road, cycle lane or pavement. Anyone who does is committing an offence.

The only place an e-scooter can be used is on private land, with the permission of the landowner.

At the moment, they are classified as Personal Light Electric Vehicles (PLEVs), so they're treated as motor vehicles and are subject to all the same legal requirements - MOT, tax, licensing and specific construction.

So, because they don't always have visible rear red lights, number plates or signalling ability, they can't be used legally on the roads.
 
Birmingham starts its e-scooter rental trial next week. I suggested to my daughter that she and her B/F try one out to get back to Selly Oak from a night out in the city planned for next weekend - but she was less than interested. Still an Uber girl.
 
Midlands Today had them on yesterday. Six quid for 25 minutes use the reporter said, which I doubt is enough time to get you to Selly Oak. Plus it's one scooter each so for two a taxi is surely still cheaper. Seems like another badly thought through experiment to me.
 
Midlands Today had them on yesterday. Six quid for 25 minutes use the reporter said, which I doubt is enough time to get you to Selly Oak. Plus it's one scooter each so for two a taxi is surely still cheaper. Seems like another badly thought through experiment to me.

Only 3.5 miles. So I reckon much less than 25 minutes on a scooter. Crumbs - you could walk it less than an hour if you did not dawdle.
 
Midlands Today had them on yesterday. Six quid for 25 minutes use the reporter said, which I doubt is enough time to get you to Selly Oak. Plus it's one scooter each so for two a taxi is surely still cheaper. Seems like another badly thought through experiment to me.

That's far too expensive. Unfortunately I think this type of thing will struggle in the UK because of vandalism / theft / dumping. For all the problems in the US vandalism seems much less prevalent than in the UK.
 
doesn't seem to be a major problem with the bike hire schemes in London. Yes some occurances, but they appear to be minor.

YMMV

I have noticed the fairly new bike scheme in Watford seems to have worked well, bikes are still in good nick after a year I think and not dumping/losses reported in the local press.
 
That's far too expensive. Unfortunately I think this type of thing will struggle in the UK because of vandalism / theft / dumping. For all the problems in the US vandalism seems much less prevalent than in the UK.

It doesn't seem to be a massive problem for the bikes for hire in That London.
 


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