There are it appears many people who are yet to be convinced that E-Scooters are safe for both users and the pedestrians they whiz past.
As part of a trial you can hire them in York but you can’t legally use your own on the public roads.
In York there are a number of people who ride their own and Police have been stopping them recently reminding riders that unless it’s a TIER hire e-scooter it is illegal
The research, which talked to 1500 adults in the UK, comes from The Compensation Experts which is a no win, no fee personal injury claims firm.
They talked to people in areas that are running a trial of E-Scooter hire like Southampton, Birmingham and Liverpool. They didn’t do research in York though.
Although the law states that a driving license is needed to participate in a rental scheme, the use of electric scooters, especially by teenagers, has led to many concerns from the public.
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The average electric scooter can travel at a max speed of upto 22mph – a speed high enough to easily cause injury.
A teenage rider died in hospital recently after he was injured in a crash with a car in the Paulsgrove area of Portsmouth. George McGowan was riding a privately owned machine.
The report revealed that 64% of Brits agreed there should be a test before you can ride an e-scooter, alongside 70% who think there should be a speed limit for this new form of transport. In York TIER have set it to 12.5mph which is lower than an E-Bike.
60% of respondents to this survey agreed that e-scooters will cause more accidents, whilst 38% of Brits think they will lead to an increase in crime.
While e-scooters rented legally as part of a trial can currently only be used in cycle lanes and on roads,74% of respondents thought e-scooters should stay off pedestrian paths, and over half (55%) said they would not feel safe walking down the high street with e-scooters.
Though you do need a license to drive an e-scooter from an official trial, a provisional license is enough – no test needed.
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One of the benefits of e-scooters is their eco-friendly nature – but their electronic motor, which is great for the environment, means that they run very quietly as well as very quickly.
That is a real potential hazard for pedestrians. In particular, there are concerns about the impact on people with disabilities, especially as lots of e-scooters are illegally used on pavements which are already full of potential hazards for anyone with mobility issues, partial sightedness or a hearing impairment.
In fact, the Royal National Institute of Blind People have openly expressed concerns about e-scooter trials across the country.
Even with a 15.5mph speed limit, they consider e-scooters to be a “real and genuine threat to the ability of blind and partially sighted people to move around independently and safely”.
Those surveyed here agree – 73% think that e-scooters should have audio warnings for people with disabilities.
Love them or loathe them, York’s electric scooters are here to stay for now and there will be even more of them buzzing about as the City of York Council has agreed to extend the trial for a further 6 months.