E-Scooters - One death and a serious injury this weekend

[Dave7]

I/we have recently been on holiday to Pollensa, Majorca. There are lots of exellent 'cycle' paths along the coast. Some of those battery scooters were flying. The sign (for cyclists) was 20 kph but some of those scooters were more like 20 mph.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

The law does need changing.

Why? The current ones are not being observed, monitored or adhered to, what good will more laws do?

 

[fossyant]

Why? The current ones are not being observed, monitored or adhered to, what good will more laws do?

Make them legal upto say 15mph like ebikes.

 

[Deleted member 35268]

"Channel 5: Scooters scourge of the streets ?" .

 

[fossyant]

"Channel 5: Scooters scourge of the streets ?"

That's next weeks episode !

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Make them legal upto say 15mph like ebikes.

Do we know that both injured parties were travelling faster than 15mph?

 

[oldfatfool]

Will they have speedos fitted

 

[Brains]

Make them legal upto say 15mph like ebikes.

Norway, who are a couple of years ahead of us on this one, have scooters all over Oslo. They may now be reaching parity with the cyclists.
I was talking to a person, the wrong side of 50, who bought one last year for commuting the 3 miles to the office.
He very easy had it chipped so as to increase the speed from 20kph to 40kph.
It took 5 mins and cost him about the price of a beer.

Back when we were all kids you and your mates might have spent an afternoon in the shed building a go-cart out of pram wheels and wooden planks to launch down the steepest hill you could find, or adding roller-skates to a plank of wood.

Within 3 years tomorrows kids will be building the same vehicle, but adding an electric motor salvaged from a scooter in a skip.
The go-cart/skate board will now go uphill as well as down .........

The law in the UK needs to be bought up to speed with the reality of electrically powered small vehicles (bikes, scooters, skate boards, mobility vehicles, electric motorcycles, and DIY go-carts etc.).

 

[Levo-Lon]

A one chap near come a cropper on my commute. He was travelling a fair old speed in the road. Hit a small ramp where the roads being repaired and nearly went flying. Could have been a lot worse then it was.

And that's tbe problem with tiny wheels.
A deflection and under a bus or car.

Kerp em banned and these old folk on scooters using the road.. Ffs

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Within 3 years tomorrows kids will be building the same vehicle, but adding an electric motor salvaged from a scooter in a skip. The go-cart/skate board will now go uphill as well as down .........

No they won't due to the fact kids are no longer taught to be inquisitive & taught any practical skills, they're taught how to pass tests so they can all go to University. Giving little Johnny or Lucy a screwdriver or hammer in a class would require far to much H&S involvement along with liability waivers.

 

[DRM]

So it's automatically there fault if they are killed using one?

Technically I believe the answer to that is yes, for example a motorcycle rider can filter through traffic on the right hand side of the road (U.K) if there are chevrons painted on the road and you filter and are hit by a drunk, drugged up driver, texting on his phone, you are at fault, due to the fact that you shouldn’t have been there in the first place, the other party will be prosecuted for their offenses if proved that’s what happened.

 

[Sharky]

Saw a couple of e-scooters in London last week, But when in Paris last year, there were hundreds of them and they were the hire type - pick up & leave anywhere. They really are a transport of the future - clean, quick, convenient and cheap. Just need some common sense guidelines for their use.

 

[swee'pea99]

Saw a couple of e-scooters in London last week, But when in Paris last year, there were hundreds of them and they were the hire type - pick up & leave anywhere. They really are a transport of the future - clean, quick, convenient and cheap. Just need some common sense guidelines for their use.

Absolutely.

 

[mjr]

There is a huge issue in that these scooters are sold all over, and there is very little reference to the fact they are illegal to use in most places (6 points on a driving license if caught on the road).

This is a very similar situation to many other things, including obnoxious dazzling bicycle lights. One difference with e-scooters is: what is the legal alternative? Haven't e-scooterists basically already accepted they're going to be outlaws?

 

[mjr]

Technically I believe the answer to that is yes, for example a motorcycle rider can filter through traffic on the right hand side of the road (U.K) if there are chevrons painted on the road and you filter and are hit by a drunk, drugged up driver, texting on his phone, you are at fault, due to the fact that you shouldn’t have been there in the first place, the other party will be prosecuted for their offenses if proved that’s what happened.

Is that example true? And is it the chevrons that matter? I thought it was whether they were enclosed by solid or dashed lines, but I've not double-checked that right now.