The pressure is on, an election is due, and we have been informed that the decision has been made: there is insufficient Parliamentary time to consult on e-scooters. It means that the likelihood of legislating for private e-scooters with regulations that set safety as the main priority in 2024 is zero.
This is a setback.
Rental trials extension to May 2026 will enable the Government to continue evaluating the usage and safety impacts of e-scooters, but that will go no way towards dealing with the over 1 million privately owned e-scooters which are evidently being used illegally on public roads. These vehicles do not pass testing, standard setting, or type approval because they are not regulated for use a motor vehicles. As such they bring unnecessary hazards to riders and danger to other road users.
PACTS stands by its recommendations made in its report of March 2022. The DfT, with other departments, should take immediate action to address dangerous and illegal private e-scooter use by:
- issuing clear information to the public that it is illegal to use a private e-scooter on public roads and in almost all public places in the UK, and that they could incur substantial fines and penalties if caught;
- taking action against retailers which fail to properly inform customers of the risks and illegality involved in the use of private e-scooters, and
- supporting the police in taking enforcement action against illegal and unsafe use.
If, as the then Minister Baroness Vere announced in May 2022, “Safety is also at the heart of our plans” then a new Bill is needed specifically to create a regulatory framework for smaller, lighter, zero-emission vehicles, as part of a new low-speed, zero-emission vehicle category.