E-Scooter News -

TAKE CARE! – THE LAW & HAZARDS

05/09/2022 – the only e-scooters that can be ridden on the road are those hired as part of government approved trials
which have safety features such as speed limits of 15.5mph and automatic lights. (Norfolk)

12/2022 – Private e-scooters are legally available to purchase but
it’s currently against the law to ride a privately owned one in any public place in the UK.

More e-scooter news articles can be found below.

10/2022 – Wesh Government overview: ‘Scourge or solution? Your e-scooter questions answered.
E-Scooter Defence Fund; a group considering mounting a legal challenge to the current wave of prosecutions. Read more here.
France make a new vehicle category for light electric moped, no licence needed. Changes to the French highway code means a new category for ‘light electric mopeds and scooters’. No licence required, no licence plate, insurance mandatory and speeds up to 25 km/h (VisorDown)
Police seized 3,000 e-scooters from England’s streets in first six months of 2021 – more than FIVE TIMES as many as the whole of 2020, figures show. Read more here.
Robbery – if potential seizure, fines, collisions or injury were insufficient hazards to put you off riding an escooter in a public place …. be mindful they are valuable, portable and display no clear identification … unsurprising they are the target of thieves – ‘Terrifying moment man threatens to stab girl, 11, in e-scooter robbery‘
latest DfT e-scooter figures:
- 2020, 460 collisions were reported. 2021, 1,352 reported collisions involving e-scooters
- 2020, 1 death. 2022 the DfT’s annual road casualties report calculated that 10 people were killed— all of whom were e-scooter riders.
- 2021, 421 people were seriously injured in incidents involving e-scooter

2024

02/03/2024 Retailers in Thames Valley urged to stop selling e-scooters – The police and crime commissioner for the Thames Valley has urged four major retailers to stop selling e-scooters. (Oxford Mail)
14/01/2024 E-scooter crash injuries significantly under-reported – study (Shropshire Star).

2023

05/12/2023 Spain’s Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT) is setting new standards for electric scooters, reshaping city streets and the way people travel (Euro Weekly)
13/10/2023 E-bikes are actually bikes, not ‘motor vehicles,’ according to new EU rules (electrek.co) – the .Gov information has long conveyed this:
- You can ride an electric bike if you’re 14 or over, as long as it meets certain requirements.
- These electric bikes are known as ‘electrically assisted pedal cycles’ (EAPCs). You do not need a licence to ride one and it does not need to be registered, taxed or insured.
01/09/2023 Northampton Police and nuisance (legal) e-scooter attention & privately-owned illegally on public roads seized (Northants Live)
30/08/2023 Paris tells rental firms to wind up operations – Paris recently became one of the first cities to have an outright ban on e-scooter rentals in the city (Yahoo)
26/07/2023 A Judge has dismissed a no-insurance prosecution against an e-scooter owner after being told it is impossible for the third-level student to get insurance for the vehicle (The Journal).
25/07/2023 Over 50 organisations call on the Prime Minister to act on e-scooter legislation (Air Quality News)
25/07/2023 Italian e-scooter road accidents up 40% last year – stats office (Reuters)
23/06/2023 Electric scooters as dangerous as off-road bikes say councillors (Midlothian News)
01/06/2023 Electric scooters: What are the rules across Europe and where are the highest injuries? (Yahoo)
05/2023 Twelve people killed in e-scooter crashes last year (Irish News)
04/05/2023 ‘Lives lost while we wait for new e-scooter rules’ (Yahoo News)
04/05/2023 Police crackdown on illegal riding of escooters and bikes (Yahoo News)
03/04/2023 Parisians Vote for Citywide Ban on E-Scooter Rentals (PC Mag)
- Dott and Tier said their e-scooters will remain available for use on this side of the Channel and questioned the validity of the mini-referendum in the French capital (Express & Star).
10/03/2023 Husband and daughter of woman killed in e-scooter collision call for law change (Shropshire Star). The husband of the first pedestrian to die after a collision with an e-scooter has said the law around their use “stinks” and has called for change.
10/03/2023 E-scooter rider who broke her leg illegally riding on road loses court battle for £30k (Mirror). But the loss was due to an inability to identify the pothole said to have caused the incident – not because the rider was unlawfully on the road.
01/03/2023 E-scooter riders more likely than cyclists to sustain serious injuries (BBC)
15/02/2023 Teenage boy (14) admits causing death of woman in e-scooter collision – Linda Davis died six days after being involved in a collision with an e-scooter in June 2022 (ITV).
29/01/2023 Mum stopped for dangerously riding e-scooter to take child to school – but police facing a backlash (Metro)
24/01/2023 – more reinforcement of the ‘riding in public places is illegal; POLICE in a Herefordshire town have warned everyone that riding e-scooters on pavements, roads and in public places is illegal and they could be seized (Hereford Times)
23/01/2023 – Wheels turning slowly for e-scooter legislation (The Scotsman)
22/01/2023 Police in Shropshire lay down the law on illegal use of e-scooters – Anyone found using an e-scooter in a public area risks having it seized by police, officers across Shropshire have warned (Shropshire Star)

2022:

21/12/2022 Family of boy, 12, who died in Birmingham e-scooter crash call for trial schemes to be banned (ITV) and Coroner issues warning after e-scooter rider, 14, is killed by a minibus (Daily Mail):
- E-scooter deaths have doubled since police stopped seizing them on the roads
- Coroner said rise in deaths and Scotland Yard’s decision is a direct correlation
20/12/2022 The French Academy of Medicine says electric scooters are becoming a public health risk and recommends that helmets be made compulsory (Yahoo)
16/12/2022 Anti-social use of e-scooters seen by most people – study (The National – for all of Wales)
14/12/2022 Voi scooters issues warning to users (Express & Star)
- Customers have to be 18-years-old.
- Riding a Voi e-scooter via an account other than your own, or allowing someone else to rise under you account, will result in an immediate ban and can result in criminal charges.
- only ride on roads and cycle lanes and never on the pavement.
- Incidents of twin riding are a breach of our User Agreement
06/12/2022 Tragic death of a 12-year-old riding a rental scooter following a bus crash (ITV)
01/12/2022 Illegal e-scooter rider sues council for £30,000 over pothole crash which broke her leg (Evening Standard) – see 10/03/2023 – claim fails at Court, but not due to illegal use.
27/11/2022 Man injured in e-scooter accident in Ilmington reported for not having licence or insurance – police warning on buying e-scooters for Christmas (Stratford Herald)
25/11/2022 E-scooter deaths TRIPLE in a year: 12 people are killed on electric two-wheelers over 12 month period (Daily Mail)
15/10/2022 E-scooter rider who smashed teeth warns of risks as collisions triple in a year (ITV)
06/10/2022 Teenager hit by Croydon tram becomes fourth e-scooter rider to die in London this year (Yahoo)
29/09/2022 Ten e-scooter riders killed as number of crashes trebles in a year across Britain (Evening Standard)
05/09/2022 Teens targeted in e-scooter crackdown (Eastern Daily Press)
05/9/2022 Man on e-scooter dies after crash with car in Brixton (BBC)
28/08/2022 Electric scooter rider dies after losing control of his bike and hitting floor (Yahoo News)
19/08/2022 Concern over huge rise in fires caused by e-bike and e-scooter batteries (ITV).
15/08/2022 Electric scooter users are more likely to ride drunk and ride helmetless than cyclists, according to a study (Daily Mail).
10/08/2022 E-Scooter rider suffers serious head injuries in Bethnal Green crash (Standard)
31/07/2022 Grandmother, 80, left with broken wrist, cracked jaw and cheekbone after e-scooter in ‘hit and run’ (Daily Mail).
26/07/2022 A 32-year-old e-scooter rider has died following a hit-and-run collision with a car in east London (BBC).
25/07/2022 ACSO calls for mandatory insurance of e-scooters (Insurance Edge)
25/07/2022 Man riding e-scooter killed after collision with car. Earlier this year it was revealed that e-scooter crashes shot up almost 2,800% in London in the first half of 2021 compared to the entirety of 2018 (MSN)
14/07/2022 Commuters who bring e-Scooters on to London’s transport network are now being prosecuted and fined amid fears that the electric vehicles will burst into flames (Yahoo News)
09/07/2022 E-scooter company Voi investigating after trio caught in ‘double-backie’ in Bristol (ITV)
08/07/2022 E-Scooter Trials Extended Despite DfT Stats Showing Spike In Injuries (VisorDown)
21/06/2022 E-scooter use on public roads to be legalised (WhatCar)
15/06/2021 Man on e-scooter suffers life-threatening injuries in Cardiff crash (ITV).
14/06/2022 Pensioner, 71, killed by e-scooter in Rainworth ridden by 14-year-old boy (ITV).
14/06/2022 Fear over surge in E-scooter accidents as law is set to change. 1,034 riders or passengers were injured last year. Nine people died and 305 were seriously hurt (Essex Live)
01/06/2022 – Arrest for drink-driving on an e-scooter after causing damage to several vehicles -‘ riding an e-scooter while under the influence is also a criminal offence’ (West Bridgeford Wire)
28/05/2022 New figures reveal scale of e-scooter menace as police threaten big fines (Yahoo News)
25/05/2022 West Midlands has fifth highest e-scooter collision number in Britain (Express & Star) with a ‘surge in Londoenes seriously injured being reported (Yahoo News UK)
12/05/2022 Regulation of e-scooter ‘Wild West’ must not be delayed, ministers warned – Police Professional
12/05/2022 Government urged to ‘get a grip’ on illegal e-scooter usage – Move Electric. Road safety group speaks out after data shows a rise in the number of road accidents involving e-scooters, including 15 UK fatalities. (WhatCar)
10/05/2022 UK to legalise electric scooters despite 40 per cent jump in accidents (E&T)
05/04/2022 a report that 27/04/2022, Mr Shapps said the Government planned to announce measures concerning e‑scooters in the Queen’s Speech (Lords library).
28/04/2022 E-scooters five times safer for riders than bicycles, claims RoSPA study (Road.cc)
28/04/2022 E-scooter sales will require approval, Shapps tells MPs (Transport Xtra)
28/04/2022 E-scooter accidents rocketed from 2020 to 2021 – NHS Ambulance Trust figure (E & T)
26/04/2022 Police crackdown on e-scooter ‘menace’, branded “a total menace on our roads” (Express & Star)
20/04/2022 More than 40 e-scooter accidents and casualties in Northamptonshire last year (NorthantsLive)
23/03/2022 E-scooter rider taken to hospital after collision with car on city estate, police confirm (Leicester Mercury)
23/03/2022 More than 1,000 complaints of e-scooter misuse – and that is in just one local authority area (Coventry Telegraph)
21/03/2022 Girl, ‘aged 14’, killed after e-scooter collides with van in Newham (ITV). More on the East-London tragedy can be read in the Standard.
09/03/2022 Illegal e-scooter ‘nightmare’ posing threat to children’s safety (Yahoo)
04/02/2022 Revealed: Full scale of injuries being caused by e-scooters in London (Standard)
03/02/2022 Ayrshire residents warned of E-scooter dangers after incidents (Largs & Millport weekly news)
18/02/2022 Nottingham in first UK trial of ‘smartest E-scooter’ that can detect pedestrians (ITV news)
17/02/2022 Revealed: The London boroughs with the highest number of e-scooter collisions (Yahoo)
13/02/2022 More than a MILLION e-scooters are on UK roads… with the vast majority being ridden ILLEGALLY (Mail Online)
13/02/2022 Police appeal for witnesses after teenager suffers ‘serious injuries’ in e-scooter crash in Greenhithe (Kent Live)
06/02/2022 Police officers seize e-scooters in Northampton town centre crackdown (Northants live)
04/12/2022 Sussex Police vow to crack down on e-scooters (Bognor.co.uk)
03/02/2022 Analysis: Illegal e-scooters hit insurer claims reserves to tune of ‘hundreds of thousands’ (Mondaq.com)
03/02/2022 Soaring number of drivers report crashes and near misses with e-scooters (Edinburgh News)
02/02/2022 Tech Digest daily roundup: Smart e-scooters will stop if ridden recklessly (Tech Digest)
03/02/2022 Soaring number of drivers report crashes and near misses with e-scooters (The Scotsman)
01/02/2022 Sheffield businessman calls for e-scooter safety schools after five-fold rise in accidents (ITV News)
01/02/2022 LEGAL scooters – Londoners crazy about e-scooters as TfL trial exceeds half a million trips (CityAM)
31/01/2022 ‘Why take the risk?’ Teen caught riding illegal e-scooter at night with no lights (Yahoo news)
28/01/2022 Making e-scooters less hated; add a warning sound. Read more here – CityAM
25/01/2022 E-scooter’s future ‘limited’ as Essex Police seize hundreds in one year – Essex’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Roger Hirst (Essex Live)
21/01/2022 E-scooter warning for Staffordshire after numerous crashes (Express & Star)
19/01/2022 Woman seriously injured after collision with e-Scooter in Dalston, London (Evening Standard)
14/01/2022 E-scooter riders warned of legal dangers faced on UK roads (Yahoo news)
12/01/2022 E-Scooters – Manufacturers Continue To Invest Despite Rules Against Road-Use (Mondaq)
09/01/2022 E-scooter rider who is seeking compensation after being seriously injured when he was overtaken by a London bus is set to be test case for hundreds of thousands estimated to be illegally using the two-wheelers on public roads (Daily Mail)

07/01/2022 E-scooters: More than 250 crashes in six months in London (ITV)
06/01/2022 Private e-scooter safety called into question (WhatCar)
02/01/2022 Police have issued a fresh warning to electric scooter riders and owners that their e-scooters could be seized if they ride them in public. It follows the convictions of two electric scooter riders in recent weeks – and those considering using them are being advised to make sure they stay within the law. (Brighton & Hove news)
01/01/2022 WARNING! In Manchester, a man dies after his electric scooter crashed into parked cars (MSN)

2021:

31/12/2021 Amazon e-scooter mess as web market calls them ‘perfect’ for travel – despite illegal on roads! (MSN)
11/12/2021 Kent Police issue warning against buying e-scooters for Christmas – here’s why (Kent Live)
10/12/2021 The law killed e-scooters in the 1930s. Will it kill again? (Legal Cheek)
08/12/2021 e-scooter rider, fatally struck by a car as he crossed a road from behind a parked van may not have noticed the vehicle while listening to music on his AirPods, an inquest heard (ITV).
08/12/2021A 14-year-old boy who repeatedly used his e-scooter on public roads and pavements despite numerous warnings by Wiltshire Police has been fined and issued with six penalty points (Police Professional)
03/12/2021 E-Scooters set to be banned from London Tube after Parsons Green fire drama (Yahoo / Evening Standard)
03/12/2021 Safety concerns mount after e-scooter crashes leave nine dead in a year. Hospitals are becoming concerned with the number of riders crashing and suffering serious injury (KentLive)
01/12/2021 Thousands of e-scooters seized as Met launch Xmas crackdown (Evening Standard) – privately owned e-scooters, of which a million have been sold in the UK, are banned on London’s roads and pavements.
01/12/2021 Scotland must ban e-scooters completely (Scotsman)
26/11/2021 E-scooter accidents leave three dead and more than 700 injured in a year (Essex Live)
24/11/2021 Brighton MP blasts e-scooter clampdown and calls for trial (Brighton & Hove News)
24/11/2021 Are e-scooters legal in the UK? – Move Electric (WhatCar)
23/11/2021 Teenager remains critically injured after e-scooter crash (West Bridgford Wire)
17/11/2021 an easy ride to lower emissions by legalising private e-scooters? (Transport Xtra)
13/11/2021 Mum’s warning to others after son’s brand new £650 scooter is scrapped by police “The e-scooter was seized, and the owner was issued a 165 notice to present appropriate insurance documentation at a local police station to retrieve the e-scooter. When a seizure of a vehicle has taken place, officers provide members of the public with a designated time frame to be able to present that documentation. If documentation is not presented within the allocated time frame vehicles are disposed of.” (Coventry Telegraph).
13/11/2021 Police plea to the public not to buy e-scooters this Christmas – or risk it being seized (Coventry Telegraph)
12/11/2021 Essex: Council demands e-scooter crackdown over illegal use in Tendring (Essex Live)
05/11/2021 E-scooters have become more popular since the ULEZ expansion (source)
05/11/2021 Ban e-scooters until they are legal on roads, crime commissioner urges (Mail)
31/10/2021 Teen gets eight points on licence and £320 fine for riding e-scooter without insurance on the road (source).
28/10/2021 E-scooters could be banned from certain roads in Nottingham to stop people riding irresponsibly on the pavements. Using virtual boundaries known as geo-fences, the scooter will automatically stop working once it enters one of the designated roads and riders will have to find an alternative route (source).
26/10/2021 Paramedic, 30, caught drink-riding an e-scooter faces the sack. Ambulance driver Samuel Christopher Bradley, 30, is the sixth in as many weeks to be disqualified from driving any vehicle after they were caught drink riding or drug riding an e-scooter in York (source)
23/10/2021 Safety fears rise as e-scooter’s with speeds of up to 72mph are sold. Under current laws, e-scooters can only be ridden on the road if hired through trial schemes in 50 towns and cities, subject to a 15.5mph speed limit (source)
22/10/2021 9 e-scooter deaths in 2021? Eight of these said to be from a fall from the e-scooter or a crash with a stationery object with no other vehicle being involved – and the law does not necessarily side with the eScooter rider (source).
22/10/2021 E-scooter seized as rider was on the wrong side of the road and had no insurance. A 20-year-old woman has been reported for driving offences after she was spotted riding an e-scooter on the wrong side of the road by police. Officers who stopped the woman soon established she also had no insurance for the vehicle (source).
20/10/2021 A Bristol man has been banned from driving for 17 months after being caught using an electric scooter while over the legal alcohol limit. Lewis Mullen, of Catbrain Hill, was seen by police officers riding a Voi rental scooter with a “pillion passenger” along Park Street, in Bristol, on Saturday 22 May.(source)
11/10/2021 E-scooters on roads ‘next year’: Rules set to ease within 12 months (source)
04/10/2021 article: the risks to e-scooter users and remedy in law; read more here

01/10/2021 Almost 300 Londoners were injured in e-scooter crashes last year, it has been revealed. The Government figures – which are likely to be a underestimate – showed there were 483 people hurt and one killed across Britain in 2020. (source)

29/09/2021 The Government is searching for ways to stop electric scooters being used for crime (Police Professional)
28/09/2021 The public are not behind Essex Police’s struggle to keep on top of the rise of illegally ridden e-scooters, a police chief has said (source)
28/09/2021 Family of a man killed on an e-scooter call for helmets to be mandatory (source)
23/09/2021 York e-scooter rider banned for drink-driving. Jack Armstrong, 21, was stopped by police after he was spotted driving erratically in the centre of York. He pleaded guilty to drink driving at York Magistrates’ Court and was disqualified from driving any kind of vehicle for 23 months. Armstrong, of Goodramgate, York, was also ordered to carry out 50 hours of unpaid community work and pay a total of £180 in costs. The court heard he recorded a reading of 106mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.It is illegal in the UK to use privately owned e-scooters on a public road, pavement or cycle lane. (BBC)
21/09/2021 Roads ban for disqualified driver caught on e-scooter. Jonothon Barrett, 28, bought the e-scooter on his release from prison in August – having been given an eight week jail sentence in July for driving a Honda Jazz in Swindon while disqualified. On September 5, the police caught him pushing the e-scooter down London Road, Headington – the equipment having run out of power. Barrett, of Bayswater Road, Oxford, pleaded guilty to driving whilst disqualified, failing to provide a specimen of blood and driving without insurance.(source)
15/09/2021 A teenager has been summonsed to court in connection with the dangerous driving of an electric scooter in Peterborough. Last week he was served a summons to appear at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court today (Wednesday) charged with dangerous driving of an electric scooter in Westgate, Park Road, Queensgate shopping centre and Lincoln Road, driving without a licence or insurance.Electronic scooters, more commonly known as e-scooters, fall within the legal definition of a ‘motor vehicle’, therefore laws that apply to motor vehicles also apply to e-scooters such as requiring the rider to have insurance and a valid driving licence. They are also currently illegal to use in public in England, unless part of a government trial (Cambridgeshire Constabulary)
06/09/2021 Teenager in court after riding e-scooter in Hereford city centre. The court heard he had been caught riding an electric scooter in Hereford High Town without a licence or insurance on April 8. The teenager was handed a six-month conditional discharge and six penalty points and must pay a £17 victim surcharge. No costs order was made as he does not have an income (source)
31/08/2021 E-scooter drink driver receives lengthy ban from the courts. Iuri Bejereanu, 32 and of Castle Street, Poole, admitted committing the motoring offence on a Dualtron Thunder e-scooter in High Street, Poole, on August 4. He also pleaded guilty to using the vehicle without insurance. A hearing at Poole Magistrates’ Court on August 20 heard that Bejereanu provided a sample of breath which contained 71 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – the legal limit is 35 micrograms.(source)
13/08/2021 Convicted Barrow e-scooter rider has court appeal dismissed. Jamie David Leake was previously convicted of riding an e-scooter in Barrow without insurance. He was ordered to pay a £419 by magistrates and given eight penalty points on his licence (source)