Electric Scooters could soon be legal...

Russinating · 2 Jul 2020 at 20:57

Nasher said:
Blind people cant hear them coming. This was a problem with EVs and now they have to make a noise at low speed.

The noise is for under 12mph which is lower than the max speed of electric scooters. Riddle me that.

Bug One · 2 Jul 2020 at 21:02

Is there any definition about what scooters are actually legal? If I draw up a rental agreement to rent the scooter from my wife, for a 1p a week, is it now legal?

b0rn2sk8 · 2 Jul 2020 at 21:04

You have to be a part of a local authority trial, so not unless you want to do that.

Neil777 · 3 Jul 2020 at 07:30

Bug One said:
Is there any definition about what scooters are actually legal? If I draw up a rental agreement to rent the scooter from my wife, for a 1p a week, is it now legal?

From what I've read elsewhere the reason only rental scooters are legal is that part of the payment covers insurance, so you're wife would have to do likewise.

Bug One · 3 Jul 2020 at 07:33

It will be interesting to read what actually gets written into law following the trials.

wolfie138 · 3 Jul 2020 at 07:51

Nasher said:
Blind people cant hear them coming. This was a problem with EVs and now they have to make a noise at low speed.

should make the wheels w/ spokes then you could just stick a lollipop stick in them.

Nasher · 3 Jul 2020 at 08:00

wolfie138 said:
should make the wheels w/ spokes then you could just stick a lollipop stick in them.

Then they can pretend they have a real motorbike

Demon · 3 Jul 2020 at 09:20

Nasher said:
Then they can pretend they have a real motorbike

I bought this for my sons bike when he as 7..

Laughably funny and you can change the sound to mimic different engine notes.. brilliant.

Demon · 3 Jul 2020 at 09:26

silvagti said:
Given the number of folk I see riding bicycles along the pavement in the city centre I can't see it being long before a pedestrian or rider is seriously injured or killed.

I think they're a great form (green, efficient, low cost) of transport but there are way too many idiots out there to blanket allow them without restrictions like licensing, testing before being allowed to ride them and police actually bothering to enforce the law preventing their use on the pavement.

At least the trial clearly stated:
"The vehicles are banned on pavements, will be limited to 15.5mph and it is recommended that riders wear helmets."

But I really don't understand the inconsistency with a cycle by adding this:
"Riders will need a full or provisional car, motorcycle or moped licence to use the vehicles, and they must be aged 16 or over."

From various threads on this, I think people and the government are still conflating eScooters with 50cc scooters far too much, they are much more akin to a cycle, anyone thats got one/tried one would no doubt attest it's just a bike you stand up on, similar speeds, similar road-usage etc, etc..

If you don't need a licence to ride a bike at 15.5MPH or be 16 or over, why would an eScooter need one? Having ridden some pretty powerful eBikes I don't really see how they are any different, or maybe the law needs changing for those too?

SexyGreyFox · 3 Jul 2020 at 18:45

wolfie138 said:
should make the wheels w/ spokes then you could just stick a lollipop stick in them.

However the whole idea of an eBike is to be silent and ride where motorbikes can't.

b0rn2sk8 · 3 Jul 2020 at 20:48

Demon said:
But I really don't understand the inconsistency with a cycle by adding this:
"Riders will need a full or provisional car, motorcycle or moped licence to use the vehicles, and they must be aged 16 or over."

From various threads on this, I think people and the government are still conflating eScooters with 50cc scooters far too much, they are much more akin to a cycle, anyone thats got one/tried one would no doubt attest it's just a bike you stand up on, similar speeds, similar road-usage etc, etc..

If you don't need a licence to ride a bike at 15.5MPH or be 16 or over, why would an eScooter need one? Having ridden some pretty powerful eBikes I don't really see how they are any different, or maybe the law needs changing for those too?

It's basically there to keep the under 16's from riding them, there is no other reason I can think of as you only need a provisional which is a few £ and a picture.

The main flaw with that is its not really possible to police without the police stopping a person on a scooter to check if they have one or not. But for them to do that they would need a reason to stop them and it can't just be to check they have a licence. The rental companies are not going to want to verify you have a licence because any barrier put in place will put people off using them (even if you have a licence) and that costs money. People are also getting more wary about handing over their personal information when its not really necessary.

Let's also be honest, the police are not going to chase you on one of these either unless your are committing serious crime. An officer on foot cant catch you and an officer in a car isn't going to be able to chase you down ally's, parks etc. There isn't really any scope to put a unique identifying mark that's visible from far away.

dacads · 7 Jul 2020 at 20:34

Also who’s going to ride them on roads? I’ve only seen them on pavements

SexyGreyFox · 7 Jul 2020 at 20:40

dacads said:
Also who’s going to ride them on roads? I’ve only seen them on pavements

I can't wait to be relegated to the second most hated transport on the roads who doesn't pay the imaginary mythical road tax.

Nasher · 23 Aug 2020 at 14:31

Just noticed this: https://thenextweb.com/shift/2020/0...start-expansion-on-hold-ginger-middlesbrough/

That didn't take long lol. Totally predictable though. They were using them for stunts down stairs, dropping them off bridges, riding through shops etc.

jpaul · 24 Aug 2020 at 11:08

yes intolerance rising - some kid's the only one in our village with one ...

it's being used on the road, no helmet, 2-up sometimes(at what weight does axle break), struggling up the hill another day around a blind bend ,
I'm doubting that the rider is any more covid considerate, than a lot of the cyclists, on our shared running path, but a collision will be less damaging, to me.

Grafter67 · 13 Sep 2020 at 12:22

I have a mobility scooter that is road legal, is insured and is registered with DVLA but the UK speed limit for it is only 8mph which obviously really ****** off motorists behind me.

SexyGreyFox · 13 Sep 2020 at 20:13

Grafter67 said:
I have a mobility scooter that is road legal, is insured and is registered with DVLA but the UK speed limit for it is only 8mph which obviously really ****** off motorists behind me.

I would have thought you'd be able to do 15.5mph!
Mind you 8 or 15.5 makes no difference to an impatient driver.

Grafter67 · 14 Sep 2020 at 22:48

SexyGreyFox said:
I would have thought you'd be able to do 15.5mph!
Mind you 8 or 15.5 makes no difference to an impatient driver.

In Benidorm and rest of Europe that is indeed the max, but UK law is 8mph on the roads (4mph on footpath) and UK distributors are obliged to restrict scooters to 8mph.

SexyGreyFox · 15 Sep 2020 at 08:33

Grafter67 said:
In Benidorm and rest of Europe that is indeed the max, but UK law is 8mph on the roads (4mph on footpath) and UK distributors are obliged to restrict scooters to 8mph.

We do a week in Benidorm every year (obviously not this year) and I have seen them faster.
Electric scooters are way faster than 15mph and I'm constantly amazed I've never seen an accident.
The next time we go I'll be hiring a mobility scooter or electric scooter, I can't walk 50 yards now.

SexyGreyFox · 16 Sep 2020 at 15:17

Arriving in Newcastle under Lyme very soon (Stoke on Trent).
It also seems to take in NHS staff who may want them for getting to the hospital.

https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/you-can-now-hire-one-4518355