Will the UK make E scooters legal?

Posted by Sheehan Trolle on March 16th, 2021

Electric scooters or e scooters have been hailed as a revolution in urban transport in all countries of the world because they are cheap, a lot of fun and an environmentally friendly way to ziparound town.

But electric scooters remain illegal on the streets of the UK – not that you would know that because the amount of e scooters going round on roads and pavements in most Cities in the UK is growing all the time.
This due to e scooters are a very cheap form of transport.

There are many e scooters for sale for leas than £300.

The problem as we see it is that many people riding these are doing so without any care about fellow drivers or walkers.
Many electric scooters are restricted to 15 mph but there are many more like the AOVO M365 PRO electric scooter that goes over this speed and can electronically have its speed increased if you
know what to do by hooking it up to its APP and taking off the restriction. The AOVO M365 PRO electric scooter or similarly the iScooter e9d are made for riding on smooth road or pavement tarmac
which is currently illegal in the UK.
Electric scooters in the UK must not be used on public highways, pavements, cycle lanes or bridleways, but only on private property with the owner’s consent.
There are also approved e scooter hire schemes that are legal up and down the cities of the UK.

There is also a thought of making high powered e scooters like the G Booster 2000w scooter and G2 Pro 1000w scooter that go up to 55 kmph and 50 kmph to be made legal when off road riding, these escooters can go both on
road and offroad.

Of course using protective equipment whne riding would need to be put into the equation to get that idea over the line.

However wearing protective clothing whne riding an electric scooter in traffic has proved not enough, the TV presenter and YouTube influencer Emily Hartridge had adopted similar precautions when
she rode her e scooter down a South London road last year. Tragically even her protective clothing could not help when she collided with a lorry and was killed.

This well reported tradgedy has not blunted sales in e scooters since though with reports that sales have increased 50% in the last year.

UK Ministers are reportedly close to legalising them on roads and cycle lanes after an influential think-tank heralded them as a great way of reducing air pollution.

However, other cities around the world that have legalised e-scooters are having second thoughts because of rising casualties.

For instance the city of Paris is facing legal action from victims of accidents through their e scooter hire scheme.

The number of electric scooter injuries in the US quadrupled between 2014 and 2018.

We believe it is all about how and where you ride your e scooter. Protective clothing and helmets can do a certain amount to help but colliding with vehicles you are always going to come off second
best.