E-scooter riders may be forced to pass test and buy insurance – Ministers’ clampdown on misuse of the machines could trigger a row with Sadiq Khan’s transport bosses
by BritRedditor1
E-scooter riders may be forced to pass test and buy insurance – Ministers’ clampdown on misuse of the machines could trigger a row with Sadiq Khan’s transport bosses
by BritRedditor1
14 comments
Article:
E-scooter riders could be forced to fit licence plates, pass a test and buy insurance under a proposed Government crackdown.
A minimum age of 14 could also be set together with legal restrictions on the power of the machines, The Telegraph understands.
It comes after a 2,000 per cent increase in teenagers caught driving without insurance last year was blamed on e-scooter misuse, according to IAM Roadsmart, the motoring charity.
Other measures being drawn up by ministers include forcing manufacturers to limit their machines’ top speed.
The plans could trigger a row with Sir Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London. Last October, Transport for London, which the Mayor chairs, said it was considering letting 16-year-olds ride the machines in public, lowering the age from the current limit of 18.
A Government source said: “We will commit to holding a consultation on this with legislation to follow.”
Formal consultations are an important step taken by government departments before new laws are proposed to Parliament.
Sir Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London
Sir Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, has banned e-bikes and electric scooters from London’s transport network Credit: Doug Peters/PA Wire
Driver-style licensing for e-scooters is not understood to be part of the Government’s plans, with the source saying that a German-style system of passing an online test is one model being looked at by ministers.
“We’re consulting on whether to do that,” the source said. “There is a spectrum of options that are lighter or lower-burden than full driver licensing.”
Options being looked at include passing an online test, although such moves may fall short of what motoring campaigners have called for.
Nicholas Lyes, policy director at IAM Roadsmart, told The Telegraph in February: “The Government needs to urgently bring forward legislation on private e-scooters, which must include minimum type approval device standards, speed limiters and proposals for riders to have a minimum level of competency.”
E-scooters are regular foot-operated scooters that have been fitted with an electric motor to make them go faster with less effort by the rider.
E-scooters can be hired by anyone over the age of 18 with a full or provisional driving licence
E-scooters can be hired by anyone over the age of 18 with a full or provisional driving licence Credit: Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images
Legally, such modified scooters cannot be used on public roads unless they are hired from a government-approved company – but about 750,000 are thought to have been sold in Britain to date, according to IAM Roadsmart earlier this year.
A number of trial schemes around the country allow members of the public to rent e-scooters from Government-licensed businesses such as Lime. Typically their top speed is limited to 15.5mph, although the limit is 12.5mph in London.
Riders must hold at least a provisional driving licence to use one on public roads, the Government says.
Mr Lyes of IAM Roadsmart said: “E-scooters have the potential to change the way we do short trips, but for years the UK has been plagued by confusing laws, questionable device quality, poor riding standards and now heavily modified machines capable of dangerous speeds.
“We need to urgently introduce legislation that provides a basic competency test for all e-scooter users while also bringing forward a type approval that ensures devices are built to high safety standards.
Gov: We can milk more money out of the poor with these scooters.
This would be a very bad move. Any justification for applying this to an e-scooter would be equally applicable to a bicycle. It would only be a matter of time before cyclists got this applied as well.
Now do cyclists.
Are there any e-scooters left? Since the introduction of having to scan your driving license to rent a Lime scooter I feel like they’ve almost completely disappeared. I see a few here and there but not even a hundredth of the amount of e-bikes.
Would love there to be a minimum standard of competence and speed limiting technology applied to cars too. This road smart guy is on to something!
I’m fed up of inconsiderate scooter and bike riders already. One can’t even feel safe on the pavement, especially with children in tow.
If we were efficient I could see it happening but think. This is the uk. £4 billion on consultations, years in delays, another £2 billion in computer system, £1 billion in bonuses, more delays and this is before we even begin establishing any test centres. Government don’t have the capability to complete this project.
Because tests and insurance stops cars killing people? How many people have been hurt let alone killed by scooters? We’re regulating a mild inconvenience rather than focusing on the real problem which actually poses a threat to life and dominates our public realms. Crap populism, nothing more.
I see one guy with one each morning and it’s basically a motorcycle – it’s a beast.
Aren’t e-scooters illegal anyway unless hired from an approved company? Just enforce the laws we have.
Bit of a clickbaity junk article… private escooter riders are forced to fit licence plates, pass a test and buy insurance already as well as being at least 16.
The differences they are suggesting is a case of relaxing all the rules for using escooters, not making them stricter.
Given that non hired escooters are currently illegal on Britain’s roads this is a liberalisation of the rules not a crackdown
I think this needs to be done way more for e-
bicycles than e-Scooters.
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