Electric scooters and the law
- Thread starter Lmg80
- Start date
Soldato
- Joined
- 9 Dec 2009
- Posts
- 5,334
- Location
- Bristol
I explored this, and considered buying a long range Segway escooter and spraying it pink. I abandoned the idea because I'd be using it well outside the permitted zones of the trial.
Caporegime
- Joined
- 20 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 75,926
- Location
- Wish i was in a Ramen Shop Counter
Is that like buying a London Taxi Cab and drive it in Bus lanes?
Soldato
- Joined
- 25 Nov 2005
- Posts
- 12,666
https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/t...ussion-after-fatal-collision.18859665/page-25 the thread is still open, mods should merge it really
@Lmg80 - Up until Lockdown last year I was commuting to work on an electronic unicycle. Mostly on the Bristol-to-Bath cycle path and then across the centre of Bristol. Was about a 6 mile trip.
Never had any issues riding that and part of my way into the office/home was going past a police station every day where there would often be a few of them outside. Typically I'd ride on the pavement or cycle path but some bits I'd ride on the road.
To make myself look a bit more responsible through winter/darker months I would put a flashing red light on my bag and a flashing whit light on the front of my coat to give me a bit of visibility.
I found as long as you weren't riding like a massive prat, the police wouldn't ever even say a word or make a glance at me
Never had any issues riding that and part of my way into the office/home was going past a police station every day where there would often be a few of them outside. Typically I'd ride on the pavement or cycle path but some bits I'd ride on the road.
To make myself look a bit more responsible through winter/darker months I would put a flashing red light on my bag and a flashing whit light on the front of my coat to give me a bit of visibility.
I found as long as you weren't riding like a massive prat, the police wouldn't ever even say a word or make a glance at me
I don’t think this argument really stacks up either. If you are going a sensible speed on a scooter, potholes are not just going to jump out at you. I’ve ridden plenty of bikes with wheels far smaller than 20” and have never fallen off due to a pothole, in fact I can’t say I have ever ridden into one on a bike because I look where I’m going and stop if I can’t go around it.
20mph isn’t a sensible speed, it’s far to fast. 15.5mph like the rest of Europe is fast enough.
These things are legal throughout Europe and the USA, their streets are no better or worse than any of ours. People ride them over tram tracks and cobbles in other countries without issue.
Do people ride these things elsewhere and get injured or killed? Yes, of course they do but as do many cyclists, pedestrians and drivers but we don’t call for any of those to be banned.
At the end of the day there is going to be some degree of risk no matter how many measures are put in place and it’s up to the individual to decide if they are happy with that or not.
If anything, the more of these there are on the road, the less cars and buses are needed to ferry people around short distances quickly and at a much lower impact.
Exactly. I commuted (last few miles) on a scooter for 4 years, without any issue. First on a very lightweight one, then after a while I upgraded to a more powerful scooter.
I'd us a mixture of road, path and cycle path depending on where I was and who was about. I certainly wouldn't ever go flying past someone on a pavement. I'd prefer to get off and walk past someone if it came to it.
I think the problem at the moment is that the majority of these hire schemes are in city centres, and seem to be mostly used by older teens. Having some lad fly past you at 15mph in a pedestrian area is pretty scary. But that doesn't represent at all the type of riding I was doing all those years on a much more powerful machine.
The problem isn't sensible people, it never is. I live next to a station and near to a reasonably oiky area. The number of ***** on electric scooters I see flying down my road in the middle of it, swinging across the road and generally riding them like utter pricks is quite amazing. Theres also a chap that likes to fly into my road at about 40mph and at some point he is going to do that at the same time one of these idiots on scooters is approaching the end and he will probably kill one of them.
That was just an example. I've seen a lot of people that have clearly derestricted them as well. Plenty of people ride them sensibly and safely but I have seen a significant number of teenagers riding them really dangerously.
Its not quite that simply though is it. The risk isn't entirely restricted to the rider and if someone hits them and kills them in a car then that could scar them for life.
I agree that they could be a good thing but there is a long way to go before they should be allowed on roads or anywhere else really.
Like you say, it’s the minority that ruin it for everyone, same can be said for lorry drivers, car drivers, motorcyclists, cyclists, pedestrians and anyone else you care to think of who uses a road. It’s not even like it’s a young thing either, I’m sure you’ve been the victim of some inconsiderate old biddy in a mobility scooter too, I certainly have been driven into by someone on one of those.
You say about the potential impacts on others if they run one down but that’s the case anytime you get in a car if they are legal or not. There is always some risk of killing someone else accidentally whether that’s a phone zombie or a kid running out into the road after a ball. As a car driver you have to accept that risk or don’t get behind the wheel of a car.
I really don’t think there is a long way to go. All that needs to happen is a sensible legal framework is set out, some education of that framework and some enforcement. It would be good if shops didn’t sell things which were non-compliant too which is generally the case with ebikes.
If it were me I'd do.
<150 watt. Not in scope. It's a child's toy and you can go faster on a push scooter.
150-350 watt. Over 12's only . 15mph limited. Allowed in pedestrian areas, pavements and cycle lanes. The scooter is registered and insured.
>350 watt. Treated as a moped. Adhere to local speed limits. Allowed on the road / cycle lanes only. Registered and insured, driver/bike license required.
Registration is done online. You get a little non-removable waterproof sticker with your number on.
<150 watt. Not in scope. It's a child's toy and you can go faster on a push scooter.
150-350 watt. Over 12's only . 15mph limited. Allowed in pedestrian areas, pavements and cycle lanes. The scooter is registered and insured.
>350 watt. Treated as a moped. Adhere to local speed limits. Allowed on the road / cycle lanes only. Registered and insured, driver/bike license required.
Registration is done online. You get a little non-removable waterproof sticker with your number on.
Having experienced falling off an e scooter pretty badly, I'd say it's a lot easier to fall off one. You don't get the same gyroscopic balance you do on a bicycle. If you attempted to turn the front wheel of a bicycle 90 degrees (say if you hit a pot hold), the rotation of the wheel would fight that. However on a scooter, it will just turn. And you got over like a pendulum.
Soldato
- Joined
- 20 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 11,760
- Location
- Derby
When the kids were at school i would often see on every morning going at full speed on the pavement with 2 scrotes on it. I was just pulling away at a set of traffic lights one day and he came screaming across in front of me, no slowing or checking if was clear, just straight out and I almost hit them and they just carried on laughing. Week or so later at the same junction (Just off the ring road where there is currently a new sports centre being built) sat at the lights and they come screaming across in front of me and must have been inches away from getting wiped out by a massive lorry that was turning into the road. He even stopped and asked if i had seen that and was glad he had a dashcam. Not seen them since school has been off but i am sure the idiots will return once the schools are back.
Soldato
- Joined
- 23 Feb 2009
- Posts
- 4,988
- Location
- South Wirral
Probably the local demographic, but I've never seen them ridden safely or with any courtesy, traffic or pedestrian awareness. Quite happily seem them crushed with the local scrotes and drug mules still on them.
Soldato
- Joined
- 9 Dec 2009
- Posts
- 5,334
- Location
- Bristol
Care to share the circumstances of your accident? I agree with the balance thing. I can ride one handed or no handed on a push bike, but on an escooter if I try going one handed, even for a short moment, such as wiping my brow, the scooter wobbles all over the place. The technique I've developed is to lean my stomach against the centre of the handlebars and then I can scratch my bum etc without having to stop.