Does something need to be done about illegal/unlicenced/uninsured electric vehicles on our roads (and pavements)

SexyGreyFox said:
but what you fail to understand is that the Police can't cope with the constant death and destruction caused by us motorists so these illegal electric vehicles are zero on their priority.
When they cause as many problems as motorists it might hit their radar.
Click to expand...
I hope none of the people complaining about dangerous cyclists are using mobile phones whilst driving. Or doing 40 in a 30 zone...
 
SexyGreyFox said:
but what you fail to understand is that the Police can't cope with the constant death and destruction caused by us motorists so these illegal electric vehicles are zero on their priority.
When they cause as many problems as motorists it might hit their radar.
Click to expand...
I am well aware of the motorist argument, I have had a license for over 40yrs and although I don't drive the number of miles that some do, I have seen more and more bad driving, riding and even walkers behaviour because they are allowed to get away with breaking the law in many cases. Even if they are caught punishment is normally very lax. Say what you will but these are the views of a grumpy old man
 
Last edited:
tonys said:
I am well aware of the motorist argument, I have had a license for over 40yrs and although I don't drive the number of miles that some do, I have seen more and more bad driving, riding and even walkers behaviour because they are allowed to get away with breaking the law in many cases. Even if they are caught punishment is normally very lax. Say what you will but these are the views of a grumpy old man
Click to expand...

Well at least you're admitting you're a grumpy old man, you need to concentrate on the real problems.
 
tonys said:
I would love to see what would happen if the public took it upon themselves to do the police's job.
Click to expand...

Actually, it's already happened and the Police were OK with it as long as the concerned citizen did not go too far.

Mike Van Erp, who goes by the handle "CyclingMikey" on Youtube, has been filming and reporting motorists who have been breaking the rules of the road to the Police for years:

...Van Erp, a 49-year-old professional carer, says he has now reported close to 1,000 law-breaking drivers to the police, with about 80% facing prosecution. After any court proceedings are finished, he posts the footage on his YouTube channel...

All of this has led to headlines, occasional TV appearances and made him the semi-reluctant public face of a new era of road crime enforcement, one in which police forces are being encouraged to accept online complaints about offences, backed up by video footage. Many of the complaints come from cyclists, who view such footage as one of the few ways they can push back against endemic levels of dangerous driving...

Initially, police forces had very little interest in following up his footage even of the most dangerous incidents. Yet, very gradually this has changed – Van Erp’s first successful prosecution followed an incident in 2018 when a taxi driver overtook him very closely.

Today, many forces allow footage and complaint details to be uploaded via the web, making it easier – and possibly more likely – that cyclists and other road users with dashcams will bother reporting bad driving. The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) recently recommended that all forces in England and Wales set up such systems, a move instigated by DCS Andy Cox, the NPCC’s lead on traffic casualties and a pioneer in efforts to tackle them.

But the ease of reporting road offences online for citizen volunteers such as Van Erp – who provide many more eyes on the road than would be possible for even the best-resourced police force – remains notably patchy. Camera users in Scotland, for instance, are still obliged to put their footage on to a DVD. Many people also complain that by submitting video they are treated only as witnesses, not potential victims, and so are not kept up to date about action taken... Article
Click to expand...

There was another one on Youtube who used to do this who called himself "Traffic Droid". I believe he moved out of London some time ago and has stopped doing it now.

tonys said:
I have seen more and more bad driving, riding and even walkers behaviour because they are allowed to get away with breaking the law in many cases. Even if they are caught punishment is normally very lax. Say what you will but these are the views of a grumpy old man
Click to expand...

Well, maybe it's time to go from "grumpy old man" to vigilante then. If nothing else it would at least allow you to feel you are doing something about the problem.
 
SexyGreyFox said:
Well at least you're admitting you're a grumpy old man, you need to concentrate on the real problems.
Click to expand...
as ??? so next time and it happens quiet a lot when an old age fart drives on the wrong side of the road with a bumper car or a tween drives like a mad man at 40+ miles an hr on an ebike and causes harm to me or themselves because i'm insured it's my fault ?
 
tonys said:
Anyone watch the itv programme on this subject tonight?
Click to expand...

Yes, six of us watched it at my brother in laws this evening and there was nothing on that we don't know, basically nothing happening.
He hates cyclists and eScooters but was shocked when they said that Paris were removing all the eScooters because 3 people had died and said "So basically cars will kill way more people but it's OK to leave them on the road but eScooters kill 3 and it's take them away, what nonsense".
There are not enough coppers to do anything about the illegals but people like me who comply will be the ones who suffer because of the other idiots.
 
I didn't watch it all, just from the bloke testing them out and the Paris section. It is still about the idiots that ride these things. If Paris has banned them, due to a public vote, then obviously the public see them as a problem to be dealt with. You are right that there aren't enough police to enforce the law on these or other vehicles.
 
tonys said:
I didn't watch it all, just from the bloke testing them out and the Paris section. It is still about the idiots that ride these things. If Paris has banned them, due to a public vote, then obviously the public see them as a problem to be dealt with. You are right that there aren't enough police to enforce the law on these or other vehicles.
Click to expand...

But it's OK for motor vehicles to kill and maim more people. My cyclist hating Brother in Law couldn't work that one out.
So ban one transport but keep the one that causes more damage.
Oh yeah, money.
 
Last edited:
Why are you still going on about cars? This thread is about idiots on e bikes, scooters etc not cars. The idiots in cars is the bad driving thread.
 
It's the idiots.
The scooters/bikes aren't an issue. It's the idiots and the inability to enforce.

Too many break the rules. And we aren't talking about going a few mph over the speed limit.

Its being on the roads, in the dark, no lights, cutting in in front of traffic at 20+mph.
Kids with other kids on the back on busy 40mph roads doing this.

I'd support a ban.


There are so so many around here. And there have been multiple incidents. Even within a mile of my house. There was a huge one story on national news in West Cardiff not long ago.
 
Last edited:
SexyGreyFox said:
because they are banning the least harmful one in Paris - does that make sense to you?
Click to expand...
If they want to that's up to them don't you think, the fact that cars do more damage isn't the issue for them. You are just fixated on the cars being the issue and not
the e-riders. I don't think most cars drive on pavements, which for me is the problem with these smaller agile vehicles. I have no problem with cyclists, e-riders or even mobility scooters that are riding within the law and safely when on the path or road.
 
So Paris has banned rental scooters:
www.bbc.co.uk

Paris says au revoir to rental e-scooters

The ban comes after a vote in the French capital - but is it democracy in action?
www.bbc.co.uk

We have a rental service in our town which started off with e-scooters and has recently had e-Bikes added to the fleet. As someone who actively uses these services in the manner they're intended (actually riding them on the road), I fully support a ban.

Unfortunately the vast majority of other users are riding them dangerously by either being on the pavement, or having two riders on them at the same time. Living close to my place of work and our town centre, I'm often walking with headphones in and I've lost count of the near misses where e-scooter riders barely scrape past me from behind.

tl/Dr We can't have nice things because of people.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom