E-scooter inquiry
Transport Committee
Inquiry
E-Scooters – Pavement
Nuisance
9th June 2020
Having
been nearly hit by an e-scooter today while walking in Epping Forest and having
observed the dangerous way they are used on pavements and roads I would like
the committee to consider the following points regarding the use of e-scooters:
1. Silent - They are virtually silent and
because of their speed they are not noticed until it is too late to get out of
the way. Luckily today my arm was just knocked as it came up behind me at speed
and did not stop. A bit closer and I would have been injured. There was no
excuse for it being so close to me as the forest path I was on was very wide.
It just shot past me and carried on as if I was invisible.
2. Pedestrians
– pavements are
becoming more difficult to negotiate as more cyclists seem to think they now
have a right to use the pavements as well as cycle lanes. On the whole cyclists
on pavements behave reasonably and are slower than e-scooters, but e-scooter
riders are oblivious to the dangers of hitting the elderly or children who,
rightly, assume they should be safe on pavements.
3. Roads
– I have seen
e-scooters on the roads going very fast in 20mph zones with no thought for
other road uses. Not only do the e-scooters create dangers for their riders but
also for other road users and could well be the instigator of major accidents.
As a car driver I am well aware of how difficult it is to see them or to
predict what their next maneuver will be.
4. Safety
Equipment – unlike
cyclists the riders wear no safety equipment and seem to be oblivious to their
own safety and to other people’s safety.
5. Highway
Code - There is
no sign of them obeying the Highway Code which in itself is a danger as
motorists, in particular, expect other road users to comply with the code, to
say nothing of the fact it is a legal requirement.
6. Speed
– some of the
more expensive models can go at 50mph which makes them a lethal weapon, not a
mode of urban transport.
7. Cycle
Lanes – from my
experience scooters in cycle lanes are as much of a danger to cyclists as they
are to motorists on the roads and pedestrians on pavements. I do not believe
they are a compatible form of transport for this country.
8. Singapore’s
Experience –
last year, when visiting family in Singapore, I came across e-scooters and
where there are very wide empty cycle/pedestrian lanes I could see the
attraction of them. Having said that Singapore Government was widely
advertising they had to be licensed and various regulations applied. See
APPENDIX below which I have found on the web and sums up Singapore’s experience
very well.
In
summary I don’t believe e-scooters are compatible with our transport network
and will in fact create many horrific accidents. They have no environmental
benefit compared to cycles and should be banned in the UK.
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I think this is grossly unfare! The government bang on about going greener and driving electric and these e scooters provide both! Just like electric cars, they are quiet, so do we ban electric cars because we can't hear them coming? E scooters are a remarkable invention and mode of transport and I truely believe the argument for keeping them far outways the argument against! If I owned one (shortly I will) I would wear a helmet and I would install a horn to let people know I am coming up behind them. As a car driver, It would be more convenient for me to jump on the e schooter than drive my car for around town shopping, so surely that has got to be a good thing?! However, I do believe that you have to be over a certain age to use them because the only idiots I see abusing the scooters are young inconsiderate idiots! That said, I have seen many more idiot and inconsiderate car drivers AND bike rifders who think they own the road and pavement! In my humble opinion, I believe a very good way to make cycle lanes safer is to have cyclists coming towards you so you can see them, and not behind you so pedestrians cant see you coming up behind them! Just last week I saw a child hit by a cyclist and that child was seriously hurt. YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO SEE CYCLISTS AND E SCOOTER COMING!!!
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